oftheNC, 


Commander  G.CMSTERVELT 
Commander  H.CR1CHARDSON 
Ueut.  Cora.  ALBERT  G.  READ 


THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.  C'S 


THE  TRIUMPH 

OF  THE  N.C'S 


BY 

COMMANDER  G.  C.  WESTER VELT, 
COMMANDER  H.  C.  'RICHARDSON 

AND 

LIEUT.-COMMANDER  A.  C.  READ 


f/n 


DOUBLEDAY,    PAGE    &    COMPANY 

GARDEN  CITY  NEW  YORK  LONDON 

1920 


COPYRIGHT,  1920  BY 
DOUBLEDAY,  PAGE  &  COMPANY 
ALL  RIGHTS  RESERVED,  INCLUDING  THAT  OB- 
TRANSLATION  INTO  FOREIGN  LANGUAGES, 
INCLUDING  THE  SCANDINAVIAN 


CONTENTS 
PART  I 

HOW  THE  FLYING  BOATS  WERE  DESIGNED 
AND  BUILT 

By  COMMANDER  G.  C.  WESTERVELT 

IAPTEB  PAGE 

I.    Ordered    to    Perform    an    Impossible    but 

Necessary  Task 3 

II.  Curtiss  Is  Called  to  Assist  —  His  Career  and 
Personality  —  Suggestions  of  the  Curtiss 
Trio  — Decision  to  Try  First  the  Three- 
Motor  Machine 19 

III.  Dr.  Lanchester's  Dicta  — "  Useful-load"  per- 

centages — Handley-Page  and  Liberty  Mo- 
tors—  Navy  Department  Organization  — 

Curtiss  Corporation  Takes  Over  the  Task      40 

I 

IV.  Characteristics  of  the  Curtiss  Corporation 

Personnel  —  Experience  of  the  Navy  Ex- 
perts—  First  Plans  too  Ambitious       ...       50 

V.  Importance  of  Low  Weight  per  Horsepower 
—  And  of  Streamlines  —  Wing  Section 
Design  — Strut  Experiments  —  Hull  and 
Tail  Designs  —  Use  of  Aluminum  — 
Power  Plant  Installation  —  A  Safety  Fac- 
tor of  Four 68 

427204 


v!  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAQD 

VI.  Slow  Progress  —  Doubts  about  the  Hull  — 
Many  Designers  Lend  a  Hand  —  Mr. 
Handley-Page  and  His  Bombing  Machines  90 

VII.  The  Actual  Building  —  Placing  out  Parts  of 
the  Work  —  Mr.  Gilmore's  Share  in  the 
N.  C's  —  His  Naval  Assistants  —  Moving 
the  Big  Panels  out  to  Garden  City  — The 
Assembling — Engine  Installation  Problems  103 

VIII.  Commander  Richardson's  Alarming  "Hump" 
— AT.  C.  1  Ready  for  Flight  —Arrangements 
at  Rockaway  —  Handling  Methods  and 
Difficulties  — The  First  Try-out  —  Tests 
and  Adjustments  —  The  Flight  to  Wash- 
ington —  Fifty-one  Passengers  — The  First 
Air  Stowaway 116 

IX.  Numberless  Alterations  Stop  Progress  — 
The  Report  to  the  Planning  Committee  — 
Other  Official  Correspondence  —  Speeding 
up  Preparations — Changes  — N.  C.  2  Gives 
Her  Wings  to  N.  C.  1  —  Accidents  —  The 
Delivery  of  the  Boats  . 136 

PART  H 

THE    "LAME   DUCK"  WINS  — THE  STORY   OF 
THE  TRANSATLANTIC  FLIGHT  OF  THE  N.  C.  4 

By  LlEUT.-COMMANDER  A.  C.  READ 

I.    The  Preliminaries 171 

II.  The  Flight  Begins  —  N.C  4  Goes  Lame  — 
Repairs  at  Chatham  — The  "Hops"  to 
Halifax  and  Trepassey  Bay  ....  186 


CONTENTS  vii 


III.  The  Big  "Hop "—Newfoundland  to  the 

Azores 198 

IV.  To  Ponta  Delgada  — To  Lisbon  — And  to 

Plymouth 213 

V.    Conclusion  of  the  Trip  —  Glad    Hands  — 

Sober  Thoughts 226 

PART  III 

THE  LOG  OF  THE  N.  C.  S 
By  COMMANDER  H.  C.  RICHARDSON 

I.     Previous  Attempts  at  Transatlantic  Flight      235 

II.    The  Azores  Route  Chosen  —  Commissioning 

the  Planes  —  Equipping  Them       .      .      .     243 

III.  The    Start   of   the   Flight  —  Rockaway   to 

Halifax 252 

IV.  The  Second  "  Leg  "—  Halifax  to  Trepassey 

Bay 263 

V.    The  Third  "  Leg  "—  Trepassey  Toward  the 

Azores 276 

VI.     A  Small  Craft  on  a  Large  Ocean       ...     287 
VII.     Arrival  and  Reception  at  Ponta  Delgada     .     303 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 

The  N.  C.  4  Taxies  Along  the  Lisbon  Waterfront 

Frontispiece 


FACING  PAGE 


Glenn  Curtiss,  Father  of  Aquatic  Aviation  ...  30 

Commander  G.  C.  Westervelt,  Supervisor  of  De- 
signing of  the  N.  C.  Craft 30 

Commander  A.  C.  Itead,  of  the  N.  C.  4  .      .      .      .  30 

Commander  H.  C.  Richardson,  of  the  N.  C.  3   .      .  30 

Longitudinal  Section  of  the  N.  C.  Boat  Hull      .      .  46 

Nomenclature  of  the  N.  C.  Planes 70 

A  Wing  Engine  Mounting 86 

The  Inside  of  an  N.  C.  Boat 86 

The  Bow  of  an  N.,C.  Plane 87 

Instrument  Board,  Central  Nacelle,  N.  C.  3       .      .  102 

Wireless  Control  Station  in  the  After  Cockpit,  N.  C.  1  102 

Liberty  Engine  in  Place  on  a  Wing  Nacelle,  N.  C.  1  103 

The  Bow  of  the  N.  C.  1 103 

A  Birdseye  View  of  the  Arrangements  at  Rockaway  118 

N.  C.  1  in  Front  of  the  Hangar 118 

Fifty-one  Passengers 119 

Commissioning  N.  C.  Division  One 119 

Those  Who  Go  Up  in  the  Air  in  Ships    ....  134 


IX 


I-ACIKO  PAGE 


x  LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 

Ready  to  Start  for  the  Azores 135 

The  Start  of  the  Transatlantic  Flight     ....  135 

The  Landfall  of  the  Rocky  Coast  of  the  Azores       .  150 

N.  C.  4  Arrives  at  Horta,  Azores 151 

The  Crew  of  the  N.  C.  4 166 

The  Crew  of  the  N.  C.  1 166 

The    Welcome  to  the  N.  C.  men  at  Plymouth, 

England 167 

The  N.  C.  4  Men  Are  Congratulated  by  the  Prince 

of  Wales 222 

The  Development  of  Nautical  Aviation  —  1       .  222 

The  Development  of  Nautical  Aviation  —  2       .  223 

Christening  the  America,  Aspirant  for  ^Transatlan- 
tic Honours    223 

The  Immediate  Ancestor  of  the  Flying  Boat      .      .  262 

The  America  about  to  Take  the  Air 262 

The  N.C.3  at  Rockaway         263 

When  the  N.C.3  Landed  on  Rough  Water          .      .  278 

The  Crippled  N.C.3  Blowing  into  Ponta  Delgada  279 

N.C.S  at  Ponta  Delgada         279 


PART  I 

HOW  THE  FLYING  BOATS  WERE 
DESIGNED  AND  BUILT 

BY 

COMMANDER  G.  C.  WESTERVELT 


The  Triumph  of  the  N.C'S 


CHAPTER  I 

ORDERED  TO  PERFORM  AN  IMPOSSIBLE  BUT  NECESSARY 

TASK 

EARLY  in  September,  1917,  Rear-Admiral 
D.  W.  Taylor  called  Naval  Constructor 
Hunsaker  and  me  into  his  office,  and  took 
our  breaths  away  by  giving  us  terse  instructions  to 
begin  the  design  of  a  seaplane  that  could  cross  the 
Atlantic  under  its  own  power.  The  longest  non- 
stop flight  that  had  then  been  made  was  only  about 
1,200  miles,  and  that  had  been  accomplished  under 
ideal  conditions,  in  the  immediate  neighbourhood 
of  a  flying  field  where  any  ordinary  mishap  would 
have  resulted  merely  in  an  enforced  landing.  The 
shortest  route  across  the  Atlantic  required  one  hop 
under  very  difficult  conditions  of  at  least  1,330  miles. 
And  here  was  the  Chief  Constructor  of  the  United 
States  Navy  calmly  commanding  us  to  bridge  that 
gap,  and,  if  possible,  the  full  1,933  miles  from  New- 
foundland to  Ireland — to  do  what  the  combined 
genius  and  resources  of  France,  Italy,  and  Great 
Britain  had  not  achieved  in  three  years  under  the 
desperate  stimulation  of  war. 

3 


4        A  rTIJE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S 

I  had  just  returned  from  a  trip  to  England,  France, 
and  Italy,  where  it  had  been  stated  by  thoroughly 
practical  and  experienced  men  that  airplanes  of  such 
a  size  and  of  such  a  radius  were  as  yet  beyond  our 
reach.  Much  investigation  had  pointed  in  the  same 
direction,  and  Naval  Constructor  Hunsaker,  who 
was  the  head  of  the  Aeronautical  Division  of  the 
Bureau  of  Construction  and  Repair,  and  had  had  a 
great  deal  of  experience  in  such  matters,  felt  the 
same  way  about  it.  We  presented  the  objections 
that  were  in  the  way,  and  Admiral  Taylor,  after 
listening  patiently  to  them,  waved  his  hand  as  if  to 
close  the  conference,  and  turning  in  his  chair  ended 
the  discussion  by  ordering  us  to,  "get  busy  and 
produce  results." 

The  two  of  us  left  the  Admiral's  office  together, 
and  as  the  door  closed  behind  us  we  paused,  as  if  by 
mutual  inspiration,  and  looked  at  each  other. 

"What  do  we  do  now?"  asked  Hunsaker,  after  a 
moment. 

"I  wish  I  knew,"  I  replied. 

From  the  time  of  our  entry  into  the  war  until  the 
middle  of  June  the  War  and  Navy  Departments  had 
been  endeavouring  to  secure  information  regarding 
the  air  services  of  our  military  associates  sufficient 
to  make  possible  the  adoption  and  carrying  out  of 
an  effective  programme,  but  conclusive  information 
had  not  been  forthcoming.  Though  much  infor- 
mation had  been  obtained  from  many  sources,  though 
numbers  of  British,  French,  and  Italian  officers  had 
come  to  the  United  States  with  sample  planes  and 
with  advice,  and  though  definite  recommendations 


THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S  5 

had  been  received  from  the  War  Departments  and 
Admiralties  of  Great  Britain  and  France,  the  recom- 
mendations were  so  various  and  contradictory  that 
it  had  not  been  possible  to  base  our  actions  upon 
them. 

Because  of  this,  on  the  16th  of  June,  1917,  a  some- 
what hastily  formed  joint  Army  and  Navy  Com- 
mission, composed  of  Major  R.  C.  Boiling,  Captain 
V.  C.  Clark,  Captain  E.  S.  Gorrell,  Captain  Howard 
Marmon,  and  Captain  Hughes,  for  the  Army,  and 
Lieutenant  W.  G.  Child  and  myself  for  the  Navy, 
sailed  for  England,  in  order  to  secure  first-hand  in- 
formation on  which  to  base  a  programme. 

The  investigation  carried  out  took  us  through 
various  airplane  factories  in  England,  France,  and 
Italy,  and  on  August  20th,  I  sailed  from  Liverpool 
in  order  to  lay  before  Admiral  Taylor  the  infor- 
mation that  had  been  gathered  concerning  airplanes 
to  be  used  by  the  Navy. 

On  the  date  of  our  arrival  in  London  there  was 
around  the  American  Embassy,  where  all  our  naval 
activity  in  Europe  was  centred,  a  most  remarkable 
and  profound  atmosphere  of  apprehension.  The 
seriousness  of  the  submarine  menace  had  become  ap- 
parent. Small  progress,  only,  had  been  made  in 
defence  measures;  and  there  were  not  lacking  officers 
in  our  naval  service  who  were  most  frank  in  their 
statements  that  disaster  was  being  postponed  from 
day  to  day  only  by  the  most  remarkable  good  for- 
tune, and  that  the  margin  preventing  it  was  of  the 
narrowest.  It  was  impossible  to  enter  this  at- 
mosphere without  feeling  the  chill  which  comes  from 


6  THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S 

the  possibility  of  a  disaster  seemingly  almost  im- 
possible to  guard  against. 

I  immediately  devoted  my  attention  to  the  sub- 
ject of  aircraft  defences  against  submarines.  The 
officers  of  the  British  Admiralty  connected  with  the 
Naval  Air  Service,  or  with  the  British  Air  Board, 
dealt  with  me  in  a  spirit  of  the  most  absolute  frank- 
ness and  openness,  and  placed  at  my  disposal  all 
information  bearing  on  the  subject.  It  was  easily 
seen  that,  of  the  Allies,  only  Great  Britain  had 
developed  a  naval  air  service  to  the  point  where  it 
could  be  regarded  as  having  any  effect  on  submarine 
activities.  It  was  practicable,  therefore,  to  report 
to  Admiral  Sims  within  a  few  days,  for  cabling  to  the 
United  States  Navy  Department,  the  preliminary 
conclusions  of  the  naval  representatives  regarding 
the  steps  the  United  States  Navy  Department  should 
take  in  connection  with  air  matters,  and  the  direc- 
tion in  which  it  was  believed  results  could  be  earliest 
obtained.  It  was  our  recommendation,  and  in  this 
recommendation  Admiral  Sims  concurred,  that  we 
should  proceed  immediately  to  the  development  of 
both  lighter-than-air  and  heavier-than-air  craft. 
Of  the  former,  our  state  of  manufacturing  prepared- 
ness made  it  seem  possible  that  kite  balloons,  for 
towing  by  surface  craft,  must  be  our  principal  contri- 
bution. Of  the  latter,  those  seaplanes  known  com- 
monly as  of  the  "flying  boat"  type  must  be  the 
result  of  our  activities. 

It  was  fortunate  that  a  decision  could  be  made  in 
favour  of  flying  boats,  as  in  this  one  type  of  flying 
craft  alone  was  progress  in  the  United  States  up  to 


THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S  7 

the  best  made  elsewhere.  For  this  progress,  Mr. 
Glenn  Curtiss,  the  celebrated  developer  and  manu- 
facturer of  seaplanes,  must  be  thanked.  His  interest 
has  always  been  mainly  hi  water  flying  craft,  and,  in 
addition  to  being  the  originator  of  the  type,  the  in- 
spiration for  most  of  the  development  has  come 
from  him  and  from  his  work. 

It  will  be  shown  by  photographs  how  flying  boats 
are  differentiated  from  hydroaeroplanes.  Briefly, 
a  flying  boat  is  a  boat  hull  with  wings  and  tail  sur- 
faces attached  to  it  which  is  capable  of  flight;  a 
hydroaeroplane  is  an  airplane  of  conventional  type 
in  which  the  ordinary  landing  carriage  of  wheels 
and  struts  has  been  replaced  by  one  of  pontoons, 
or  floats,  and  struts.  A  brief  summary,  giving  the 
advantages  and  disadvantages  of  each  type,  will 
further  develop  the  subject.  In  this  connection, 
however,  it  must  be  said  that  this  summary  is  largely 
my  own  summary,  and  that  concerning  this  subject 
considerable  controversy  rages.  There  is  the  flying 
boat  school,  and  the  hydroaeroplane  school,  and  the 
more  determined  of  the  followers  of  each  of  these 
schools  will  yield  little  to  each  other.  In  my  opin- 
ion, flying  boats  are  more  seaworthy  than  hydro- 
aeroplanes; they  are  able  to  land  upon,  and  get  away 
from,  seas  of  greater  height;  more  comfortable  quar- 
ters for  the  pilots  and  crew  can  be  provided;  and 
greater  gasoline  capacity,  more  uniformly  distrib- 
uted, can  be  arranged  for.  Hydroaeroplanes  pos- 
sess the  advantages  of  being  somewhat  faster  for 
equal  power,  and  of  being  somewhat  more  ma- 
noeuvrable in  the  air.  As  airplanes  for  fighting  pur- 


8  THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S 

poses  they  would  also  be  superior  since  they  would 
permit  of  better  arrangement  of  guns  for  defensive 
or  for  offensive  purposes.  This  latter,  however,  is 
probably  true  only  of  small  craft,  as  on  large  ones  it  is 
possible  to  arrange  guns  so  as  to  secure  fire  into  all 
portions  of  the  air. 

Fundamentally,  all  water  flying  craft  are  seaplanes, 
but  it  is  necessary  to  adopt  some  method  for  defi- 
nitely defining  the  kind  of  seaplane  meant.  That 
adopted  by  myself,  and  the  one  I  shall  follow  through- 
out this  account,  is  this:  When  seaplanes  are 
spoken  of  in  the  plural,  water  aircraft  in  general  will 
be  meant;  a  seaplane  spoken  of  in  the  singular  will 
mean  a  hydroaeroplane  or  airplane  of  the  float  type; 
a  boat  or  flying  boat,  spoken  of  in  the  singular,  or 
boats  and  flying  boats,  spoken  of  in  the  plural,  will 
mean  a  seaplane  or  seaplanes  of  the  boat  hull  type. 

In  recommending  types  of  flying  craft  for  use 
against  submarines  many  things  had  to  be  taken  into 
consideration. 

First  of  all  to  consider  was  the  engine.  At  the 
time  of  which  I  am  speaking  there  was  not  built  in 
the  United  States  an  engine  of  sufficient  power  or 
reliability  to  make  possible  its  consideration  in  con- 
nection with  an  aircraft  programme.  There  was 
under  development,  however,  the  Liberty  engine. 
Since  then  this  has  proven  to  be  an  engine  of  wonder- 
ful success,  but  it  was  necessary,  then,  in  a  large 
degree,  to  take  it  for  granted  that  this  engine  would 
turn  out  successfully,  and  that  our  flying  boats 
could  be  motored  with  engines  of  this  type.  In 
order  to  avoid  an  entire  reliance  on  this  work  of 


THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S  9 

development,  though,  we  recommended  the  im- 
mediate undertaking  of  the  manufacture  of  Rolls- 
Royce  engines  of  300  to  400  horsepower. 

During  the  time  I  was  abroad,  the  first  Liberty 
engine  had  been  built  and  run.  The  results  of  this 
first  test  were  unexpectedly  favourable.  By  the  time 
I  returned  to  the  United  States  this  engine,  origi- 
nally designed  for  330  horsepower,  was  showing  con- 
tinually increased  power,  and  its  reliability  had  been 
proven  to  be  such  that  practically  all  thought  had 
been  dismissed  of  manufacturing  Rolls-Royce  motors. 
The  United  States,  in  its  air  problem,  had  decided 
to  plunge  entirely  on  the  Liberty,  and  to  sink  or 
swim  with  its  success.  At  that  time  I  considered 
this  decision  one  involving  great  hazard,  and  I  still 
consider  it  so.  It  is  true  the  outcome  was  successful, 
and  that  the  Liberty  developed  gradually  into  the 
premier  airplane  engine  of  its  type  in  the  world. 
Had  the  outcome  failed  to  be  successful,  however, 
the  United  States  would  have  been  practically  inert 
so  far  as  its  air  forces  were  concerned,  and  would  have 
been  able  to  contribute  little  or  nothing,  in  this  direc- 
tion, toward  winning  the  war. 

The  great  outstanding  accomplishment  of  the 
aeronautical  endeavour  of  the  United  States,  during 
the  World  War,  was  the  Liberty  engine.  Starting 
almost  from  a  standing  start,  this  engine  was  de- 
veloped in  something  less  than  a  year  into  the  leading 
aviation  engine  of  its  type  of  the  entire  world.  Its 
simplicity  of  construction  and  its  suitability  for 
American  manufacturing  methods  are  such  that  in 
about  a  year  the  output  of  these  engines  became 


10         THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S 

equal  to  the  entire  output  of  the  rest  of  the  world  of 
engines  of  nearly  the  same  horsepower.  During  the 
final  thirty  days  before  the  signing  of  the  Armistice, 
there  were  produced  of  this  engine  more  than  had 
been  produced  by  all  other  nations  of  all  other  en- 
gines of  similar  type  and  comparatively  equal  horse- 
power in  any  twelve  months. 

Mark  Twain  once  said,  in  essence:  If  an  intellec- 
tual giant  can  be  found  holding  an  opinion,  another 
intellectual  giant  can  be  found  who  holds  directly  to 
the  contrary;  if  an  intellectual  pygmy  can  be  found 
holding  an  opinion,  another  intellectual  pygmy  can 
be  found  who  holds  the  contrary  opinion;  and  thus 
through  the  entire  range  of  intellectual  strata. 
From  this  he  concluded  that  nobody's  opinion  is 
worth  anything.  When  we  were  confronted  with 
the  necessity  of  arriving  at  conclusions  regarding 
the  proper  sizes  of  aircraft  for  counter-submarine 
measures,  this  opinion  of  Mark  Twain's  was  fre- 
quently in  our  minds.  On  one  hand,  we  were  advised 
that  numerous  small  seaplanes  should  be  provided 
for  carrying  one  or  two  small  bombs — on  the  other 
hand,  that  seaplanes  of  large  sizes  were  necessary  for 
carrying  bombs  of  the  greatest  power.  It  sometimes 
seemed  that  as  many  of  our  advisors  held  to  one 
opinion  as  to  the  other.  It  was,  therefore,  as  much 
by  instinct  as  by  reason  that  we  came  to  believe 
that  those  who  advised  in  favour  of  craft  of  consider- 
able size  were  more  nearly  fundamentally  correct  than 
those  who  advised  in  favour  of  smaller 'craft. 

Advice  against  aircraft  of  the  largest  sizes  was, 
however,  nearly  unanimous.  Only  here  and  there 


THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S          11 

a  voice  was  raised  in  defence  of  such  craft.  As  we 
examined  the  attempts  which  had  been  made  to  pro- 
duce larger  flying  boats  than  two-motored  ones,  we 
were  forced  to  admit  that  the  success  attained  had 
hardly  justified  the  effort.  The  effort,  however, 
had  not  been  entirely  consistent,  and  it  lacked  the 
support  of  enthusiasm,  except  on  the  part  of  its  im- 
mediate backers. 

Commander  Cyril  Porte  of  the  Royal  Navy,  who 
will  be  mentioned  again,  stood  almost  alone  as  a 
champion  of  great  flying  boats.  His  own  efforts, 
or  the  efforts  due  to  his  inspiration,  such  as  those 
resulting  in  the  production  of  some  of  the  Curtiss 
boats  of  large  size,  were  the  only  ones  consistently 
devoted  to  developments  in  this  direction.  Those 
efforts,  it  must  be  confessed,  had  not  been  productive 
of  great  success.  From  this  fact,  it  is  quite  certain, 
had  resulted,  in  considerable  measure,  the  lack  of 
confidence  felt  in  these  larger  flying  craft.  This 
lack  of  success  was  due  to  the  fact  that  though  de- 
signs grew  larger  practically  the  same  type  of  con- 
struction was  maintained.  This  resulted  in  an  in- 
crease in  weight  out  of  proportion  to  the  increase  in 
engine  powers.  Engine  powers  had  not  increased 
sufficiently,  and  engine  weights  per  horsepower  had 
not  decreased  rapidly  enough,  to  meet  this  weight  in- 
crease, and  the  result  was  flying  boats  over-weighted, 
under-powered,  and  of  small  cruising  radii. 

With  large  sizes  in  aircraft  there  go  inevitably  all 
of  the  disadvantages  of  this  size.  Manufacturing 
facilities  must  be  great,  and  buildings  enormous; 
sheds  must  be  much  larger  and  handling  arrangements 


12          THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S 

more  extensive  and  more  complicated;  the  members 
of  handling  crews  must  be  more  numerous;  and  ex- 
penses of  maintenance  are  largely  increased.  Unless 
advantages  of  very  great  value  can  be  secured  from 
this  larger  size,  such  size  cannot  be  justified.  From 
the  several  larger  boats  built  by  Commander  Porte, 
or  on  his  initiative,  these  advantages  had  not,  it 
seemed,  been  obtained.  I  did  not  have  the  oppor- 
tunity of  meeting  Commander  Porte,  or  of  discuss- 
ing with  him  the  reasons  for  or  against  large  size  in 
naval  flying  craft;  or  the  reasons  for  a  lack  of  the 
expected  success  in  the  craft  built  by  or  for  him.  I 
secured,  instead,  all  of  the  arguments  made  me,  either 
for  or  against,  from  sources  less  inspired,  or  from 
those  less  experienced  in  the  many  details  involved. 

Back  in  the  United  States,  the  aeronautical  industry 
was  a  starveling.  It  had  suffered  severely  from  mal- 
nutrition, and,  with  the  exception  of  the  Curtiss 
Aeroplane  and  Motor  Corporation  of  Buffalo,  N.  Y., 
no  company  had  facilities  for  manufacture  worth  a 
moment's  consideration.  Among  the  personnel  of 
this  industry  were  few  men  of  real  manufacturing 
experience,  and  outside  of  Buffalo  the  total  person- 
nel engaged  was  only  a  few  hundred.  These  were 
the  foundations  we  were  forced  to  regard  as  those  on 
which,  overnight,  enormous  organizations  must  be 
built.  Thought  must  be  given  a  building  programme 
which  took  into  consideration  these  conditions. 

If  we  decided  upon  the  building  of  flying  boats  of 
the  largest  sizes  then  in  being,  factory  buildings  of 
the  greatest  dimensions  must  be  put  up;  two  or  three 
manufacturers,  only,  would  be  able  to  undertake  the 


THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S         13 

necessary  work;  and  small  output  at  the  best,  and 
only  after  nine  months  to  a  year,  could  be  expected. 
If  the  decision  were  for  boats  of  smaller  size,  the 
material  difficulties  would  be  greatly  reduced;  more 
manufacturers  could  put  up  plants  and  undertake 
the  work;  deliveries  would  commence  within  a  few 
months;  and  boats  could  be  obtained  by  hundreds 
as  compared  to  tens  of  the  larger  ones. 

Under  the  insistence  of  the  American  Navy  the 
convoy  system  for  cargo  ships  and  for  troopships 
was  being  put  into  operation.  It  was  still  during 
its  early  days.  Previously,  ships  had  taken  their 
way  alone  through  waters  rendered  as  safe  as  pos- 
sible by  the  ceaseless  patrol  of  such  vessels  as  were 
available  for  the  purpose.  The  ocean  is  enormous; 
patrol  vessels  were  few  for  the  tasks  set  them;  and 
the  patrol  system  was  gradually  being  given  up  for 
the  convoy  system. 

In  the  convoy  system  ships  leave  their  ports  in 
groups  under  the  escort  of  one  or  more  vessels  of  war, 
or  else  rendezvous  at  an  appointed  place  distant 
from  the  usual  cruising  grounds  of  submarines. 
Later,  before  entering  these  cruising  grounds,  they 
are  met  by  a  group  of  destroyers,  or  other  vessels, 
and  are  escorted  through  submarine  waters  to  their 
appointed  destinations.  Submarines  are  free  to 
roam  at  large  as  they  desire,  except  for  the  dangers 
they  encounter  in  passing  through  the  mine  fields 
strategically  placed,  and  from  hostile  submarines 
patrolling  near  their  ports  of  entry  and  exit.  If 
they  will  leave  the  convoys  alone,  they  are  them- 
selves left  alone,  as  patrol  vessels  exist  in  quantities 


14          THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S 

insufficient  for  both  convoy  and  patrol  work.  At- 
tacks on  convoys,  however,  were  welcomed.  These 
attacks  exposed  the  submarine  to  the  attack  of  a 
group  of  destroyers  under  conditions  much  to  the 
disadvantage  of  the  submarine,  and,  after  a  few 
attempts,  became  a  venture  only  the  boldest,  or  the 
most  reckless,  would  attempt. 

We  were  considering  aircraft  activities  against 
submarines  on  the  patrol  basis.  The  intention  was  to 
establish  upon  the  coasts  of  France  and  of  the  British 
Islands  a  number  of  air  stations  so  close  together  that 
their  patrol  activities  would  interlock,  and  there 
would  be  created  in  this  way  sea  areas  off  these  coasts 
of  as  great  an  extent  as  possible,  free  from  submarines, 
and  safe  at  any  point  for  slow-moving  ships.  It  is 
instantly  obvious  that  these  intentions  required  for 
their  fulfillment  very  large  numbers  of  flying  craft. 
This  need  for  numbers,  and  for  numbers  with  the 
least  possible  delay,  determined  our  recommenda- 
tion. We  recommended,  with  the  strong  approval 
of  Vice- Admiral  Sims,  flying  boats  by  the  hundreds, 
motored  with  single  Liberty  engines,  and  as  many 
of  the  large  two-motored  boats  as  could  be  built 
without  interfering  with  the  building  of  the  smaller 
ones. 

It  is  sufficient  to  state  that  the  actual  airplane 
building  programme  of  the  Navy  was  along  the  direc- 
tion discussed.  The  development  of  this  building 
programme  was  one  of  the  romances  of  the  war, 
which,  to  my  regret,  has  no  further  place  here. 
One  of  the  buildings  erected  for  constructing  some  of 
the  flying  boats  ordered  was  started  in  the  latter  part 


THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S         15 

of  July,  was  completed  in  October,  and  was  turning  out 
boats  in  January.  It  was  900  feet  wide  by  1,300  feet 
long,  and,  with  equipment,  cost  more  than  $6,000,000. 

As  I  look  back  on  it,  I  must  admit  that,  upon  my 
departure  from  London  for  the  continent,  I  was  of 
the  opinion  that  reasons  against  very  large  flying 
boats,  so  far  as  this  term  was  understood  in  July, 
1917,  were  of  considerably  more  weight  than  the 
reasons  for  them.  During  the  remainder  of  my  time 
in  Europe  nothing  occurred  nor  were  any  opinions 
presented  to  modify  materially  these  conclusions. 
Upon  my  return  to  London  in  August,  shortly  before 
my  departure  for  the  United  States,  I  again  can- 
vassed the  situation,  and  discussed  with  a  number 
of  people  the  proper  naval  flying  craft  of  the  heavier- 
than-air  type  for  counter-submarine  defence.  Opin- 
ions and  conclusions  were  generally  as  I  had  found 
them  before. 

On  the  first  of  September  I  landed  in  New  York, 
and  on  the  second  of  that  month  reported  to  my 
Chief,  Rear-Admiral  D.  W.  Taylor,  in  Washington. 
On  that  day  and  on  the  following  days,  as  his  en- 
gagements permitted,  I  gave  him  the  opinions  and 
conclusions  arrived  at  as  a  result  of  my  visit  to 
Europe.  During  the  time  I  was  in  Europe  I  had,  of 
course,  by  letter,  kept  him  fully  informed  of  develop- 
ments there.  I  had  given  him  my  impressions  of  the 
drift  of  opinion  regarding  anti-submarine  air  measures, 
and  of  my  conclusions  regarding  these  opinions.  To 
some  extent,  I  discussed  the  subject  of  flying  craft 
larger  than  anything  at  that  time  in  successful  use, 
and  the  reasons  why  these  were  considered  desirable 


16         THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S 

or  undesirable.  His  interest  in  much  larger  flying 
craft  than  any  the  Navy  was  contemplating  was  im- 
mediate, and  he  required  all  possible  information  I 
could  supply  regarding  this  subject.  This,  as  a 
matter  of  fact,  was  not  a  new  interest  with  him. 
One  of  his  final  injunctions  to  me  before  my 
sailing  was  to  examine  carefully  into  the  work 
which  had  been  done  in  this  direction.  The  re- 
ports I  was  able  to  give  him  were  far  from  encourag- 
ing. To  how  great  an  extent  he  was  discouraged  by 
these  reports  may  be  judged  from  what  I  have  al- 
ready recorded. 

It  has  been  told  how  Admiral  Taylor  ordered  the 
design  of  a  transatlantic  flying  boat.  He  ampli- 
fied his  order  by  specifying  a  large  depth  bomb  carry- 
ing capacity,  sufficient  protection  against  smaller 
and  faster  craft,  and  a  rapidity  and  simplicity  of 
design  making  possible  their  early  completion  for 
war  service. 

The  reason  for  this  imperative  command  was 
plain  enough.  The  cry  from  Europe  was  for  aid 
in  overcoming  the  submarine.  Ships  were  being 
sunk  faster  than  they  were  being  replaced,  and  the 
Allies  were  straining  every  nerve  to  overcome  the 
menace  that  threatened.  Many  things  were  being 
tried,  and  few  were  yet  accomplishing  much,  while 
the  enemy  was  becoming  more  and  more  proficient, 
and  more  and  more  daring  in  the  use  of  his  under- 
water weapon.  Patrol  boats  were  being  sent  over 
by  the  score.  Submarine  chasers  were  being  built 
by  the  hundred,  and  destroyers  were  being  constructed 
in  every  available  shipyard. 


THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S         17 

It  had  become  the  practice,  more  and  more,  to 
equip  all  surface  craft  operating  in  submarine  waters 
with  depth  charges  of  trinitrotoluol,  generally  known 
simply  as  TNT,  a  most  powerful  explosive,  and 
one  of  great  disruptive  effect  when  exploded  at  a 
sufficient  depth  below  the  surface  of  the  water.  All 
ships  were  fitted  for  dropping  bombs  set  to  explode 
at  regulated  depths  below  the  surface  of  the  water. 
Some  were  fitted,  in  addition,  with  methods  for  throw- 
ing these  bombs  to  limited  distances  in  the  attempt 
to  place  them  nearer  a  position  in  which  a  submarine 
was  possibly  submerged. 

As  soon  as  aircraft  began  to  be  employed  for  anti- 
submarine purposes,  these  aircraft  were  equipped  with 
depth  charges  of  this  TNT,  and  with  means  where- 
by these  charges  could  be  dropped  as  near  as  pos- 
sible to  the  submarine  attacked,  or  to  the  submerged 
position  in  which  the  submarine  was  thought  to 
be.  These  aircraft  charges  were,  at  first,  very  small 
and  of  a  very  limited  radius  of  action.  As  aircraft 
grew  in  size,  however,  chiefly  due  to  increase  in 
engine  power,  these  charges  increased  in  weight 
until  they  became  sufficient  to  be  of  positive 
menace  to  submarines  within  75  to  100  feet  of  their 
points  of  detonation.  The  limit  in  the  size  of  these 
charges,  due  to  the  limit  in  the  size  of  aircraft,  of 
which  I  have  spoken,  seemed  to  have  been  reached. 

Other  elements  also  were  of  great  importance.  As 
aircraft  had  grown  in  size,  space  required  for  ship- 
ping purposes  had  increased  enormously.  As  a  ship- 
load of  large  flying  boats  would  mean  a  most  une- 
conomical utilization  of  space  so  far  as  weight  was 


18         THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S 

concerned,  the  problem  of  providing  sufficient  cargo 
space,  out  of  the  rapidly  decreasing  tonnage  avail- 
able, was  a  most  serious  matter.  Later  on,  the  Navy 
actually  sent  an  entire  shipload  of  two-motored  flying 
boats  to  England,  and  though  the  ship  in  question  was 
a  large  one  the  cargo  carried  on  this  occasion  consisted 
of  only  twenty-five  flying  boats  with  accessories. 

The  factors  which  limited  the  weights  of  the  depth 
charges  carried  by  aircraft  limited  the  weight  avail- 
able for  gasoline  for  cruising  purposes.  Six  hours 
was  the  limit  of  time  a  flying  boat  with  its  depth 
charges  could  keep  the  air.  If  necessary  to  seek 
submarines  on  operation  grounds  100  miles  from 
shore,  this  would  mean,  at  the  most,  that  these  boats 
could  spend  only  three  hours  patrolling  against  sub- 
marines, as  they  would  require  the  other  three  hours 
for  going  from  and  returning  to  their  stations.  For 
distances  farther  out  than  100  miles,  or  for  convoying 
purposes  for  a  slow  convoy,  aircraft  of  the  heavier- 
than-air  type  must  be  regarded  as  practically  useless. 

Naval  Constructor  Hunsaker  and  I  had  our  orders. 
So  ominous  was  the  submarine  situation  that  nothing 
of  possible  use  must  be  neglected.  Hopes  were 
entertained  that  aircraft  could  help,  but  decreasing 
shipping  was  available  for  transporting  them.  It 
might  be  impossible  to  produce  a  flying  boat  which 
could  fly  across;  it  seemed  quite  impossible  then; 
but  if  one  could  be  produced  the  gain  would  be  great. 
The  submarine  menace,  and  not  any  conscious  in- 
tention of  being  the  first  to  fly  across  the  Atlantic, 
was  the  immediate  reason  for  the  undertaking  of  a 
seemingly  impossible  task. 


CHAPTER  II 

GLENN  CURTISS  IS  CALLED  TO  ASSIST — HIS  CAREER  AND 
PERSONALITY — SUGGESTIONS  OF  THE  CURTISS  TRIO 
—DECISION  TO  TRY  FIRST  THE  THREE-MOTOR  MACHINE 

EE  is  largely  a  question  of  a  man's  reactions 
to  the  circumstances  which  surround  and 
often  circumscribe  him.  If  a  person  has 
been  set  an  absolutely  impossible  task  he  cannot 
react  to  it.  From  whatever  direction  he  may  ap- 
proach it,  it  looms  up  ever  larger,  more  dispiriting, 
more  forbidding,  more  terrifying.  Since  it  is  im- 
possible, no  approach  gets  him  anywhere,  and,  pres- 
ently, he  has  tried  them  all  and  is  beaten.  If  it  be 
not  quite  impossible,  he  may  eventually  open  a  path 
nearer  to  its  centre,  and,  bit  by  bit,  get  on  his  way 
to  complete  penetration. 

The  seemingly  impossible  task  set  on  Monday 
seemed  on  Wednesday  not  quite  impossible.  Two 
days  had  been  devoted  to  a  discussion  of  the  problem 
— a  flying  boat  for  anti-submarine  operations  capable 
of  flying  across  the  Atlantic — and  the  problem  no 
longer  seemed  entirely  beyond  human  capacity, 
as  this  capacity  stood  at  that  instant.  It  was  de- 
cided to  call  in  as  soon  as  possible  other  men  with 
knowledge  of  airplanes,  to  talk  with  them,  to  hear 
their  views,  and  to  compare  ideas.  The  first  man 
whose  name  suggested  itself  was  Mr.  Glenn  H. 

19 


20          THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S 

Curtiss,  president  of  the  Curtiss  Aeroplane  and 
Motor  Corporation,  and  he  was  invited  by  telegram 
to  Washington  for  a  discussion  of  the  problem  up 
for  solution. 

As  the  name  of  Curtiss  will  appear  very  frequently 
in  these  pages,  and  as  the  engineering  organization 
built  up  by  the  man  from  whom  this  name  was  ob- 
tained will  be  referred  to  with  increasing  frequency, 
this  is  an  appropriate  place  in  which  to  detail,  as 
briefly  as  possible,  the  history  of  that  remarkable 
man,  and  the  incidents  and  events  which  led  to  his 
occupying  a  place  in  the  aeronautical  history  of  the 
United  States  of  glory  less  only  than  that  of  the 
Wright  brothers  and  of  Langley. 

Glenn  Hammond  Curtiss  was  born  in  Hammonds  - 
port,  New  York,  on  the  21st  of  May,  1878.  With 
worldly  possessions  his  parents  were  not  well  sup- 
plied. When  he  was  four  years  of  age  his  father 
died,  and  it  became  necessary  for  him,  in  a  very  few 
years,  to  work  for  a  livelihood  and  to  assist  in  the 
support  of  his  family.  When  twelve  years  old,  he 
was  engaged  in  the  assembling  of  cameras  at  the 
works  of  the  Eastman  Kodak  Company  in  Rochester, 
and  for  the  first  few  weeks  during  which  he  was  en- 
gaged in  this  occupation,  received  the  weekly  pay  of 
$4.00.  He  continued  at  work  of  this  nature  at  in- 
creasing compensation  for  several  years. 

We  are  assured  by  his  biographer  that  at  school 
he  was  particularly  proficient  in  mathematical  sub- 
jects. It  seems  certain,  however,  that  the  demands 
of  poverty  made  his  pursuit  of  school  learning  a 
brief  one,  and  that  his  excursions  in  the  fields  of 


THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S         21 

mathematics  during  this  period  were  limited,  and 
over  rough  ground.  As  has  been  the  case  with  so 
many  other  men  who  have  risen  superior  to  the  dis- 
advantages of  early  environment  or  circumstances, 
Glenn  Curtiss's  knowledge  was  acquired  in  small 
degree  within  the  limited  spaces  enjoyed  by  village 
schools.  Rather  than  in  this  way,  this  knowledge 
came  to  an  intensive  mind,  not  subject  to  the  dis- 
couragements of  limited  opportunity,  through  exer- 
cise in  that  university  which  is  the  whole  field  of 
human  knowledge  and  of  scientific  endeavour. 

After  a  few  years  in  Rochester,  family  affairs 
drew  him  back  to  Hammondsport.  His  natural 
mechanical  adaptiveness  asserted  itself,  and  he  very 
shortly  was  engaged  in  the  general  work  of  bicycle 
repair,  or,  when  that  failed,  due  to  the  winter  weather 
and  the  impassability  of  the  roads,  he  did  odd  jobs 
of  tinkering  with  machinery,  of  wiring  houses  for 
electric  lights,  or  in  some  similar  undertaking. 
This  was  in  the  late  nineties  when  all  the  world  was 
awheel,  and  he,  naturally,  rode  bicycles  as  well  as 
repaired  them.  He  went  far  beyond  the  usual  run 
of  his  associates,  however,  and  developed  the  ability 
to  obtain  speed  from  a  bicycle  in  a  degree  which 
made  it  possible  for  him  to  win  a  number  of  the  local 
races  in  which  he  entered.  This  is  a  matter  of  some 
importance.  It  will  be  found  throughout  the  career 
of  this  man  that  he  has  always  been  desirous  of 
moving  as  rapidly  through  the  air  as  the  possibilities 
of  the  day  have  made  practicable.  There  is  no 
record  of  his  ever  having  been  a  particularly  fast 
rider  on  a  bicycle.  More  than  to  speed,  his  victories 


22         THE  TRIUMPH  OP  THE  N.C'S 

were  due  to  ability  to  analyze  the  situation  and  to 
out-think  his  opponents.  It  would  have  been  most 
phenomenal  had  he  ever  held  records  for  a  man-driven 
bicycle,  as  he  has  always  been  a  slight  and  slender 
man,  without  the  necessary  weight  or  physical  vigour 
for  the  propelling  force  of  a  vehicle  of  this  nature. 
In  power-driven  vehicles,  however,  it  may  be  noted 
that,  from  time  to  time,  he  has  held  world  records  for 
speed  on  motorcycles,  in  speed  boats,  and  in  air- 
planes. He  has  never  been  attracted  by  speed 
possibilities  of  motor  cars.  This,  it  is  safe  to  say, 
is  the  only  reason  he  has  not  held  records  for  this 
type  of  power-driven  vehicle  as  well  as  for  the  others. 

At  the  age  of  twenty-two,  he  started  his  own  bi- 
cycle repair  shop.  There  he  very  shortly  became 
interested  in  the  application  of  the  gasoline  motor  to 
the  bicycle,  and  is  probably  the  first  man  to  combine 
the  two  successfully.  This  led  him,  during  favour- 
able times  of  the  year,  into  motorcycle  racing,  and  in 
such  races  his  defeats  were  so  few  as  to  be  almost 
negligible.  His  motors  were  built  by  himself  in  a 
small  factory  erected  in  Hammondsport,  and  they 
very  shortly  attracted  such  favourable  attention 
throughout  the  country  that  the  enterprise  of  build- 
ing them  enjoyed  some  degree  of  financial  success. 

During  the  several  years  in  which  he  rode  as  a 
professional  motorcyclist,  a  number  of  the  premier 
records  of  the  world  were  established  by  him.  On 
the  28th  of  January,  1904,  on  a  motorcycle  driven 
by  a  two-cycle  engine,  he  made  a  record  of  10 
miles  in  8  minutes  and  54  seconds — which  was 
far  beyond  anything  previously  accomplished.  A 


THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S         23 

few  years  later,  on  a  cycle  driven  by  an  eight-cylin- 
der motor,  he  made  a  mile  in  26|  seconds,  or  at  a 
speed  of  137  miles  per  hour.  This  established  a 
speed  record  for  a  power-driven  vehicle  unbeaten 
for  several  years  by  any  type  of  motor-driven,  man- 
carrying  appliance. 

Two  years  after  the  establishment  of  this  motor- 
cycle record,  he  had  already  progressed  far  enough  in 
aviation,  and  in  the  development  of  airplanes, 
known  at  that  day  as  flying  machines,  to  win  the 
James  Gordon  Bennett  International  Cup  Race  in 
Rheims,  France.  This  was  on  August  29,  1909. 
In  this  race  he  was  opposed  by  all  of  the  best-known 
flyers  of  that  day,  and  by  the  best-known  airplanes 
at  that  time  manufactured.  His  most  redoubtable 
opponent  was  Monsieur  Bleriot,  the  famous  French 
aviator  and  airplane  manufacturer,  who  was  just  fresh 
from  his  triumph  of  flying  across  the  British  Channel. 
In  this  race  Monsieur  Bleriot  used  one  of  his  well- 
known  monoplanes,  motored  with  an  80-horsepower 
motor,  whereas  Mr.  Curtiss  relied  upon  a  biplane, 
designed  and  built  by  himself,  motored  with  an 
eight-cylinder,  50-horsepower  motor,  of  very  much 
the  same  type,  though  of  very  much  less  power,  as 
the  well-known  Curtiss  motor  of  the  present  day. 
On  this  day,  Quentin  Roosevelt,  at  that  time  a  boy 
in  his  teens,  was  an  interested  spectator  of  the  flight 
at  Rheims,  and  was  among  the  first  to  congratulate 
Mr.  Curtiss  when  his  victory  was  announced.  From 
the  inspiration  of  seeing  this  international  race 
won  by  an  American  in  Rheims  may  have  come  the 
determination  which  later  led  that  Young  Crusader 


24         THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S 

to  take  to  the  air  as  his  element,  and,  from  this, 
to  the  laying  of  his  life  as  a  sacrifice  on  the 
altar  of  Liberty  within  a  few  miles  of  this  historic 
spot. 

Mr.  Curtiss's  first  interest  in  motors  for  aircraft 
was  stirred  by  Captain  Thomas  Baldwin,  the  famous 
balloonist,  parachute  jumper,  and  dirigible  pilot. 
Captain  Baldwin  was  attracted  by  the  remarkable 
qualities  of  the  motorcycle  motors  built  by  Curtiss 
in  his  Hammondsport  plant,  and  travelled  from 
California  to  Hammondsport  to  discuss  with  him 
the  building  of  a  motor  suitable  for  his  dirigible. 
This  motor  was  built,  and  was  used  by  Captain  Bald- 
win in  successful  flights  made  by  him  during  the 
World's  Fair  in  St.  Louis  in  1904.  From  this  asso- 
ciation grew  a  friendship  which  has  continued  to 
the  present  day.  Its  first  immediate  fruit  was  the 
successful  building  by  Curtiss  and  Baldwin,  in  com- 
bination, of  the  first  dirigible  ordered  by  the  War  De- 
partment, and  the  first  airship  of  any  type  built  by 
Curtiss  and  his  organization.  This  was  a  small,  non- 
rigid  dirigible,  required  to  have  the  modest  speed  of 
20  miles  an  hour.  At  that  time  this  was  considered 
by  no  means  modest. 

In  1905,  in  New  York  City,  Mr.  Curtiss  became 
acquainted  with  Dr.  Alexander  Graham  Bell.  This 
acquaintance  may  be  said  to  mark  the  definite  entry 
of  Mr.  Curtiss  into  the  fields  of  activity  in  which  he 
very  shortly  became  so  eminent.  It  was,  indeed,  a 
most  fruitful  one,  and,  judged  by  its  results,  must 
be  regarded  as  one  of  the  epochal  meetings  of  mod- 
ern times .  Doctor  Bell  was ,  at  that  time,  interested  in 


THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S          25 

experiments  with  weight-lifting  tetrahedral  kites. 
He  was  concerned  with  the  possibility  of  installing  a 
motor  in  one  of  these  kites,  and  invited  Mr.  Curtiss 
to  visit  him  at  his  summer  home  in  Nova  Scotia  to 
discuss  the  project. 

Mr.  Curtiss  visited  Nova  Scotia,  and  very  shortly 
there  was  formed  at  the  home  of  Doctor  Bell  an  asso- 
ciation known  as,  "The  Aerial  Experiment  Associa- 
tion." This  association  was  very  largely  financed  by 
Mrs.  Bell,  and  consisted,  besides  Doctor  Bell  and  Mr. 
Curtiss,  of  Mr.  F.  W.  Baldwin  and  Mr.  J.  A.  D. 
McCurdy,  young  Canadian  mechanical  engineers,  and 
Lieutenant  Thomas  Selfridge,  of  the  United  States 
Army.  This  association  immediately  interested  it- 
self in  the  question  of  power-driven  flight,  and,  after 
a  short  time,  moved  its  headquarters  to  Hammonds- 
port,  where  the  facilities  for  work  were  better.  At 
Hammondsport  their  first  experiments  were  with  a 
glider.  From  this,  however,  they  very  quickly 
passed  on  to  power-driven  airplanes,  and  built  in 
succession  three  of  these  of  increasing  merit. 

The  first  flight  of  an  airplane,  designed  and  built 
by  this  association,  was  made  on  March  12,  1908, 
by  Mr.  Baldwin,  and  ended,  as  might  be  expected, 
after  a  flight  of  318  feet  11  inches,  in  a  crash  which 
badly  smashed  the  machine.  This  flight,  however, 
was  remarkably  successful  from  the  viewpoint  of  the 
experimenters.  To  them  it  demonstrated  the  truth 
of  the  axiom  that,  "All  which  goes  up  must  come 
down,"  but  it  also  demonstrated  the  fundamental 
soundness  of  the  theories  on  which  their  work  was 
based,  and  the  breaking  of  the  plane,  due  to  the  inex- 


26          THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S 

perience  of  the  man  flying  it,  was  of  no  importance 
compared  to  this  greater  fact. 

Increasing  experiments,  breakages,  repairs,  and 
tests,  with  the  building  of  additional  airplanes, 
carried  the  knowledge  of  airplane  design  and  manu- 
facture much  farther,  and  there  was,  eventually, 
developed  an  airplane  possessing  many  of  the  well- 
known  characteristics  of  the  Curtiss  airplanes  used 
so  successfully  for  training  purposes  since  that  time. 
On  May  22,  1908,  Mr.  Curtiss,  in  one  of  these  air- 
planes, flew  a  distance  of  1,017  feet,  and  landed  with- 
out damage.  For  that  particular  time  and  for  an 
organization  of  so  little  experience,  this  was  a  re- 
markable accomplishment.  On  the  4th  of  July  of 
that  year,  in  the  third  machine  designed  by  the 
association,  and  named  by  them  the  June  Bug, 
he  won  a  trophy  offered  by  the  Scientific  American 
for  a  one-kilometer  flight  in  public.  On  this  occa- 
sion he  flew  a  distance  slightly  in  excess  of  one  mile, 
and  landed  only  because  he  was  approaching  woods, 
and  had  not  yet  had  sufficient  flying  experience 
to  make  it  desirable  to  attempt  a  turn. 

Shortly  after  the  winning  of  the  Scientific  Ameri- 
can cup,  the  association  had  their  first  great  mis- 
fortune. This  was  met  in  the  death  of  Lieutenant 
Selfridge,  who  was  killed  while  flying  with  Orville 
Wright,  at  Fort  Meyer,  Va.  The  accident  result- 
ing in  the  death  of  Lieutenant  Selfridge  was  caused 
by  the  breaking  of  one  of  the  propellers  of  the  Wright 
airplane,  and  was  the  first  airplane  accident  in  this 
country  to  result  in  the  death  of  a  flyer.  This  was 
a  severe  blow  to  the  association,  to  whom  the  un- 


THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S         27 

tiring  activity  and  the  great  technical  ability  of 
Lieutenant  Selfridge  had  been  of  the  greatest  assist- 
ance, and  to  Mr.  Curtiss  personally,  as  between  him- 
self and  Lieutenant  Selfridge  there  had  developed  a 
very  warm  attachment. 

The  most  spectacular  of  the  personal  flight  achieve- 
ments of  Mr.  Curtiss  was  that  made  by  him  on 
Sunday,  May  31,  1910,  from  Albany,  N.  Y.,  to  New 
York  City.  This  flight  won  a  $10,000  prize  offered 
by  the  New  York  World. 

The  distance  was  slightly  over  150  miles,  which, 
at  that  time,  was  a  very  great  distance  for  an  air- 
plane to  fly.  Of  more  importance  than  the  distance, 
however,  was  the  fact  that  the  route  over  the  gorge 
of  the  Hudson  River  is  one  of  the  worst  air  routes 
in  the  entire  world.  To-day,  even,  with  all  uncer- 
tainty eliminated  regarding  the  behaviour  of  air- 
planes, and  with  powerful  engines  of  a  large  reserve 
of  power,  few  flyers  voluntarily  essay  this  flight. 
If  forced  to  do  so,  they  fly  at  altitudes  generally 
greater  than  the  world's  height  record  of  that  date 
so  as  to  avoid  the  diverse  air  currents  invariably  met 
with  on  this  route. 

From  whatever  direction  the  wind  may  blow,  it 
tumbles  into  the  Hudson  gorge,  over  hills  and  through 
valleys,  and  there  it  boils,  surges,  rises,  and  falls, 
to  such  an  extent  that  at  any  level  above  this  river 
up  to  500  to  2,000  feet,  the  air  is  disturbed  to  a  most 
surprising  extent.  Any  one  flying  through  it  is 
beaten  and  buffeted,  and  maintains  his  course  and 
his  level  with  difficulty,  and  only  by  the  exercise  of 
the  greatest  amount  of  skill.  Mr.  Curtiss,  flying 


28         THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S 

over  a  greater  portion  of  this  distance  at  a  very 
low  altitude,  was  subjected  to  many  of  the 
worst  conditions  of  this  course.  This  was  a  new, 
and  must  certainly  have  been  a  disquieting, 
experience.  He  was  successful,  however,  and 
after  a  stop  near  Poughkeepsie,  and  another 
stop  near  the  Harlem  River,  he  continued  on  to 
Governor's  Island  and  made  his  final  landing 
there. 

Very  shortly  after  the  winning  of  the  Scientific 
American  trophy  there  developed  on  the  part  of 
Mr.  Curtiss  an  active  interest  in  the  subject  of 
flying  from  water.  There  followed  the  experiments 
which  resulted  in  making  Mr.  Curtiss  the  leading 
developer  of  watercraft,  and  which  had  the  further 
happy  effect  of  preserving  for  the  United  States, 
the  original  home  of  aviation,  in  this  one  direction 
of  aeronautical  development  the  distinction  of  being, 
if  not  preeminent,  at  least  abreast  of  the  develop- 
ment in  any  other  portion  of  the  world. 

The  first  results  of  this  interest  were  of  very  little 
promise.  The  late  June  Bug  was  fitted  with 
floats,  was  rechristened  the  Loon,  and,  under  this 
discouraging  cognomen,  made  an  attempt  to  fly 
from  the  water.  Due  to  the  added  weight,  and  to 
the  fact  that  it  is  more  difficult  to  obtain  necessary 
speed  on  water  for  flying  purposes  than  it  is  to 
obtain  this  speed  on  land,  it  was  impossible  to  get 
this  first  seaplane  into  the  air. 

It  seems  quite  probable  that  the  attempted  flights 
with  the  Loon  were  the  first  actual  attempts  made 
to  support  an  airplane  on  the  water  by  means  of 


THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S         29 

floats,  and  to  fly  it  therefrom.  The  idea  involved, 
however,  is  claimed  by  more  than  one  man,  and  is 
one  concerning  which  there  has  been  considerable 
patent  litigation.  Most  of  the  developments  se- 
cured at  Hammondsport  were  made  the  subject  oft 
patent  applications,  and  the  fitting  of  pontoons  to 
aircraft  in  order  to  fit  them  for  flying  from  the 
water  was  so  covered. 

Continued  experiments  gave  better  results.  These 
experiments  had  been  transferred  to  North  Island, 
San  Diego,  California,  where  weather  conditions 
were  such  as  to  make  flying  the  year  around  practi- 
cable. This  island  has,  of  late  years,  been  used  by 
both  the  Army  and  Navy  for  training  purposes,  and 
on  it,  at  the  present  time,  is  located  one  of  the  large 
aviation  training  stations  maintained  by  the  Navy 
Department.  It  was  Mr.  Curtiss  who  first  saw  the 
suitability  of  this  island  and  of  this  locality  for  the 
training  of  flying  men,  and  his  good  judgment  has 
been  proved  by  the  expenditure  on  the  part  of  the 
military  departments  of  millions  of  dollars  in  the 
building  up  of  their  stations  there. 

One  of  Mr.  Curtiss's  first  ideas  after  securing  an 
encouraging  degree  of  success  in  his  airplane  experi- 
ments was  the  possibility  of  training  Government 
aviators  for  the  military  purposes  of  the  Govern- 
ment. In  response  to  his  offer  to  the  War  and  Navy 
Departments  to  undertake  this  work,  there  were  sent 
to  San  Diego  officers  of  both  military  departments. 
Since  that  time,  there  have  been  trained  under  the 
direct  supervision  of  Mr.  Curtiss,  or  in  airplanes 
designed  or  built  by  his  company,  fully  nine  tenths 


30         THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S 

of  the  Army,  Navy,  and  Marine  Corps  aviators  of 
the  United  States  Forces. 

With  his  military  students,  Mr.  Curtiss  took  in 
hand  his  further  experiments  on  water  flying  craft, 
and  on  the  26th  of  January,  1912,  accomplished  the 
first  successful  flights  with  an  airplane  of  this  char- 
acter. This  airplane  was  of  the  float  type,  and  in  it 
Mr.  Curtiss  and  his  flying  students  made  many 
flights.  It  gave  way  rapidly,  however,  to  the  idea 
of  the  flying  boat  which  Mr.  Curtiss  originated;  and 
the  result  has  been  that  this  type  of  flying  craft  has 
been  associated,  and  will  continue  to  be  associated, 
with  the  name  of  Curtiss.  Rapid  improvements  in 
engines  and  in  the  design  of  the  details  of  the  sea- 
planes themselves,  perfected  these  flying  boats,  and 
in  a  comparatively  short  time  Curtiss  boats,  as  well 
as  the  ordinary  biplanes  of  the  typical  Curtiss  de- 
sign, became  known  over  a  considerable  portion  of 
the  world. 

The  Wright  brothers,  to  whom  the  credit  belongs 
for  the  fundamental  developments  which  have  made 
modern  flight  possible,  seemed  to  have  done  their 
life  work,  and  from  them  little  other  development  of 
promise  had  been  secured.  They  had  given  flight 
to  the  world  and  apparently  had  then  settled  back  in 
some  degree  of  contentment  to  take  their  ease  and 
to  enjoy  their  own  quiet  scientific  investigations. 
Little  or  no  advance  in  airplane  design  or  construc- 
tion came  from  them,  and  the  result  was  that  the 
name  of  Curtiss  became  synonymous  with  the  prog- 
ress in  aviation  being  made  in  the  United  States. 
After  the  death  of  Wilbur  Wright  on  May  30,  1912, 


(Upper  left)     Glenn  Curtiss,  Father  of  Aquatic  Aviation 

(Upper  right)     Commander  G.  C.  Wester velt,  U.  S.  N.,  who  supervised 

the  designing  and  building  of  the  N.C.  craft     (Photo  by  Marceau) 
(Lower  left}     Commander  A.  C.  Read,  U.  S.  N.,  who  commanded  the 

N.C.  4  on  her  epoch-making  flight.    (Photo  ©  by  Paul  Thompson) 
(Lower  right)     Commander  H.  C.  Richardson,  U.  S.  N.,  who  commanded 

the  N.C.  3  on  the  trans- Atlantic  flight,  and  who  had  much  to  do 

with  the  designing  and  building  of  the  four  N.C's. 


THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S         31 

the  Wrights  practically  disappeared  as  airplane 
developers  or  manufacturers.  Orville  Wright,  a 
particularly  gentle,  sweet-tempered,  and  lovable  man 
oi  quiet  tastes,  is  by  nature  an  investigative  phys- 
icist. At  his  home  in  Dayton  he  has  provided 
himself  with  an  experimental  laboratory  and  being, 
happily,  of  sufficient  means  for  his  simple  tastes,  has 
devoted  himself  to  calm,  untroubled,  and  unhurried 
pursuit  of  the  answers  to  certain  unsolved  questions. 
From  him,  from  time  to  time,  are  received  bits  of 
scientific  knowledge  of  use  to  the  Fellows  of  his  pro- 
fession, but  outside  of  that  limited  circle  the  busi- 
ness of  the  world  proceeds  and  knows  not  of  him, 
except  that,  with  his  brother,  he  belongs  to  history 
as  one  of  the  Great. 

Glenn  Curtiss,  on  the  contrary,  has  with  his  greater 
business  instinct  invaded  the  world,  and  has  spread 
his  flying  craft  around  wherever  civilization  is  and 
men  are  interested  in  the  conquest  of  the  air.  For 
this  fact,  the  United  States  owes  to  him  a  debt  of 
gratitude.  With  almost  no  encouragement  from 
the  Government  of  this  country,  and  frequently 
under  circumstances  of  the  utmost  discouragement, 
he  held  aloft  the  banner  of  American  determina- 
tion. It  results  that,  throughout  the  world,  where 
aeronautical  development  before  the  World  War  was 
discussed,  Curtiss  was  discussed,  and  wherever  aero- 
nautical achievements  were  dwelt  upon,  it  was  pos- 
sible to  cite  those  of  Glenn  Curtiss  and  his  organi- 
zation, and  to  avoid  the  humiliation  of  an  acknowl- 
edgment of  complete  inertia. 

Up  to  the  outbreak  of  the  World  War  in  1914 


32          THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S 

there  had  not,  it  is  probable,  been  placed  in  this 
country  an  order  with  an  airplane  manufacturer  for 
more  than  six  airplanes  of  any  one  type  at  any  one 
time.  Up  to  this  time  the  total  expenditures  of  the 
War  Department  and  of  the  Navy  Department  for 
aeronautics  in  all  its  phases  had  certainly  not  been 
in  excess  of  $4,000,000.  Under  such  discouraging 
circumstances  courage  and  tenacity  were  required  to 
carry  on.  Except  for  the  fact  of  popular  interest  in 
airplane  tests  and  in  airplane  exhibits,  it  would  have 
been  impossible  for  the  airplane  industry  to  exist  at 
all  in  this  country.  On  this  foundation  of  sand  the 
Curtiss  organization  was  built.  In  his  ability  to 
keep  this  organization  together,  to  expand  it  grad- 
ually, and  even  to  pay  the  members  of  it  from  time 
to  time,  as  funds  became  available,  Mr.  Curtiss 
showed  himself  a  financial  genius  of  ability  at  least 
equal  to  his  mechanical  ability.  There  were  many 
times  when  the  last  dollar  must  have  been  in 
sight,  and  when  all  work  was  being  continued  on 
the  basis  of  hope  and  of  such  credit  as  could  be 
obtained. 

When  the  Great  War  came,  the  Curtiss  Aeroplane 
Company  was,  in  reality,  the  only  airplane  company 
in  this  country  deserving  of  such  a  designation.  To 
them  there  applied,  naturally,  purchasing  agents  of 
the  British  Government,  scouring  the  world  for 
every  possibility  of  securing  the  necessary  military 
appliances.  With  the  same  degree  of  optimism 
which  had  made  it  possible  for  him  to  win  over  al- 
most insurmountable  obstacles,  Mr.  Curtiss  accepted 
from  these  purchasing  agents  contracts  for  him- 


THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S         33 

dreds,  and  even  thousands,  of  airplanes,  of  various 
types.  In  some  way  the  money  was  found  to 
finance  the  enterprise;  the  organization  built  up  by 
him  was  moved  from  the  sleepy  little  village  of 
Hammondsport  to  the  industrial  city  of  Buffalo, 
and  there  the  first  real  plant  of  the  Curtiss  Aero- 
plane and  Motor  Corporation  was  erected. 

To  a  certain  extent,  there  slipped  from  Mr.  Cur- 
tiss's  hands  control  of  his  own  affairs  when  this 
larger  field  was  entered.  He  is  not  a  man  who  gets 
his  happiness  from  the  campaigns  of  large  business 
undertakings,  and  it  was,  undoubtedly,  with  the 
greatest  degree  of  satisfaction  that  he  was  able  to 
capitalize  his  past  experience,  and  to  secure  for  him- 
self, and  for  the  faithful  associates  who  had  stuck 
by  him  through  thick  and  thin,  the  rewards  made  pos- 
sible by  the  enormous  amount  of  business  now  of- 
fered. Upon  other  shoulders  he  unloaded  most  of  the 
burdens  of  manufacturing  activity,  and  withdrew 
himself  more  and  more  into  the  quieter,  calmer  at- 
mosphere of  experiment  and  engineering  develop- 
ment. 

Among  Mr.  Curtiss's  associates  it  is  a  well-known 
fact  that  the  harsh  climatic  conditions  of  Hammonds- 
port  and  of  Buffalo  were  not  to  his  liking.  In  his 
mind  there  had  formed  the  determination  to  escape 
from  them,  and  from  the  cares  and  troubles  of 
large  manufacturing  activities,  when  the  opportunity 
presented  itself.  To  these  facts  are  due  the  con- 
struction of  the  plant  of  the  Curtiss  Engineering  Cor- 
poration at  Garden  City,  N.  Y.;  and  to  them  must 
be  ascribed  the  fact  that  a  plant  of  this  nature  was 


34          THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S 

constructed  at  a  location  so  little  suited  for  such  a 
purpose. 

His  biographer  has  recorded,  in  discussing  the 
activities  of  his  early  life,  "Thus  Curtiss  went 
ahead  with  his  work  to  construct  and  improve  his 
motors,  and  improvement  came  with  each  successive 
one.  Meantime,  Curtiss  began  to  receive  inquiries 
and  even  some  orders,  and  business  took  a  decidedly 
favourable  turn.  Half  a  dozen  fellow  townsmen  be- 
came interested  enough  in  Curtiss's  motorcycle 
experiments  to  put  money  into  the  business,  and 
within  a  short  time  a  little  factory  was  built  on  the 
hill  back  of  Grandma  Curtiss's  house.  It  was  an 
inconvenient  place  to  put  up  a  factory,  and  all  the 
heavy  material  was  hauled  up  to  it  with  some  dif- 
ficulty. In  spite  of  these  little  obstacles;  in  spite  of 
the  fact  that  Hammondsport  is  located  at  the  end 
of  a  little  branch  railroad,  which  seems  to  the  visitor 
to  run  only  as  the  spirit  moves  the  engineer — in 
spite  of  every  handicap,  the  business  grew  rapidly." 
So  may  it  be  with  the  plant  at  Garden  City!  The 
factory  built  by  Curtiss,  the  boy,  behind  Grandma 
Curtiss's  house,  was  built  there  without  any  special 
business  reason,  but  because  Curtiss,  the  boy,  wanted 
it  there.  Due  to  the  genius  of  the  boy  it  prospered. 
For  all  we  know  there  may  be  no  better  reason 
for  the  location  of  the  factory  built  by  Curtiss, 
the  man,  on  the  pleasant  plains  of  Garden  City 
May  the  genius  of  Curtiss,  the  man,  cause  it  also 
to  prosper. 

Glenn   Curtiss   is  a  man  beloved   of  his   associ- 
ates.    He    has    that    rare    quality,    of    leadership 


THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S          35 

which  breaks  the  path  loyal,  unquestioning  fol- 
lowers keep  with  him.  Men  who  started  with  him 
in  Hammondsport  are  with  him  yet.  The  ap- 
praisal put  on  the  ability  of  these  men  is  Curtiss's 
appraisal,  and  they  have  been  rewarded  accord- 
ingly. It  may  be  that  some  have  been  rewarded 
beyond  their  actual  deserts,  but,  almost  without 
exception,  they  have  given  loyalty  and  support, 
and  the  affection  which  one  man  feels  for  an 
admired  and  trusted  leader.  These  are  among  the 
things  one  cannot  buy  and  which  are  beyond  any 
price. 

Mr.  Curtiss  is  of  medium  height  and  slender. 
Prosperity  has  brought  to  him  no  increase  in  girth. 
His  face  is  keen,  his  head  of  medium  size,  and  his 
features  sharp.  In  general,  he  has  the  lean,  keen, 
falcon-like  look  one  associates  in  one's  mind  with 
a  man  of  the  air.  He  is  quiet,  gentle,  and  with- 
out self-assertiveness.  His  manner  is  just  the  least 
bit  embarrassed,  and  his  opinions  are  given  some- 
what hesitatingly,  as  if  by  one  who  waits  for  agree- 
ment from  time  to  time,  and  for  the  encouragement 
which  comes  from  this  agreement. 

In  all  great  developments  the  pioneers  who  have 
first  achieved  success,  after  the  patient  plodding  of 
their  many  forerunners,  seem  to  have  moved  for  a 
time  with  seven-league  boots.  After  them  come 
the  plodders  who  move  a  few  inches  at  a  time. 
These  speeds  often  are  relative  only.  The  develop- 
ment of  the  fundamentals  is  the  great  work,  and 
carries  the  human  race  centuries  in  advance  in  a  few 
moments  of  time.  After  that,  progress  is  won  only 


36          THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S 

by  steps,  and  no  further  great  advances — except  by 
the  step-by-step  method — seem  possible. 

It  has  been  Mr.  Curtiss's  good  fortune  to  progress 
for  a  while  in  his  seven-league  boots,  and  to  ac- 
complish in  a  few  months  the  work  of  years.  At  the 
present  time,  however,  he  is  an  inch-by-inch  plodder 
with  the  rest  of  us,  but  liable  at  any  time,  perhaps,  to 
break  once  more  into  his  natural  stride,  to  leave  the 
plodders  still  plodding  on  behind. 

The  airplane  built  by  Professor  Langley,  but  not 
flown  successfully  until  years  afterward  when  Mr. 
Curtiss  himself  flew  it  at  Hammondsport,  the  first  air- 
plane built  and  flown  by  the  Wright  brothers,  the  first 
seaplane  built  and  flown  by  Mr.  Curtiss,  all  weighed 
less  than  a  thousand  pounds.  The  N.  C.  boats  as 
they  took  the  air  for  the  flight  to  the  Azores  weighed 
about  twenty-eight  thousand  pounds.  Pound  by 
pound  the  sizes  grew  from  the  first  to  the  latest  of 
the  series.  From  each  one  something  was  learned. 
The  N.  C.  boats  embody  the  knowledge  gained  from 
all  of  their  forerunners,  and  a  number  of  these  fore- 
runners are  shown  here  so  that  appreciation  may  be 
had  of  the  steps  through  which  this  development  has 
been  secured. 

In  reply  to  a  telegram  from  Admiral  Taylor,  Mr. 
Curtiss  arrived  at  the  Navy  Department  on  the 
following  morning  with  two  of  his  designing  staff, 
Mr.  W.  L.  Gilmore  and  Mr.  Henry  Kleckler. 
After  a  preliminary  discussion  with  Mr.  Hunsaker 
and  myself,  an  appointment  was  made  with  Admiral 
Taylor.  In  the  discussion  which  followed  there  was 
laid  down  the  broad  precept  of  the  design  aimed  at. 


THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S         37 

Into  this  discussion  there  entered  definitely  the  prop- 
osition that  the  seaplane  produced  should,  if  possible, 
be  capable  of  sustained  flight  from  Newfoundland  to 
Ireland.  If  this  proved  impracticable,  it,  at  least, 
should  be  capable  of  a  sustained  flight  from  Newfound- 
land to  the  Azores,  and  its  characteristics  should,  in 
general,  be  those  outlined  in  the  first  chapter. 

After  the  conference  with  Admiral  Taylor,  the 
Curtiss  representatives,  Hunsaker,  and  myself,  dis- 
cussed the  general  characteristics  of  a  flying  boat  of 
the  type  aimed  at,  the  engine  horsepower  available, 
and  the  size  of  the  craft  which  it  might  be  necessary 
or  desirable  to  attempt.  Mr.  Curtiss  and  his  assist- 
ants returned  to  Buffalo  to  prepare,  as  rapidly  as 
possible,  for  early  discussion,  general  suggestions  as 
to  type,  sizes,  powers,  and  general  arrangements,  in 
accordance  with  the  tentative  conclusions  at  which 
we  had  arrived. 

Two  or  three  days  later,  the  Curtiss  trio  returned 
to  Washington  with  general  arrangement  plans  of 
two  suggestions.  One  suggestion  was  for  a  five- 
motored  boat  of  roughly  1,700  horsepower,  the  other 
for  a  three-motored  boat  of  roughly  1,000  horse- 
power. Both  were  biplanes,  and  were  similar  in 
general  except  for  the  differences  in  size  made  pos- 
sible by  the  differences  in  power. 

The  boats  for  which  these  outline  plans  were  sub- 
mitted differed  from  the  conventional  type  of  flying 
boat  in  that  the  hulls  were  considerably  shorter, 
and  the  tails,  instead  of  being  supported  on  these 
hulls,  were  supported  on  booms  carried  from  the 
hull  and  from  the  wings.  In  general,  there  was  em- 


38         THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S 

ployed  in  these  rough  suggestions  an  idea  embodied 
by  the  Curtiss  Company  in  a  flying  boat  which  they 
designated  a  "flying  life  boat."  In  this  boat  the 
hull  was  very  short,  the  tail  planes  were  carried  oil 
extension  booms,  and  an  arrangement  had  been  made 
whereby,  if  desired,  the  wings  and  the  tail  could  be 
dumped  overboard,  and  the  boat  could  proceed  under 
the  power  of  the  engine,  which  was  mounted  in  the 
hull,  and  drove  the  propellers  through  chains  and 
gearing.  In  this  larger  design  no  such  arrangement 
with  regard  to  the  wings  or  to  the  location  of  the 
engines  was  proposed.  There  was,  in  general,  a 
similarity  in  the  two  types,  however,  though  the 
flying  life  boat  was  a  triplane  and  the  proposal  for 
the  larger  boats  called  for  biplanes.  . 

General  dimensions  only,  estimated  weight  and 
horsepowers,  were  submitted  with  these  proposals. 
It  hardly  can  be  said  that  any  definite  or  concrete 
design  was  presented.  The  drawing  of  a  picture 
indicating  what  an  airplane  will  look  like  is  the 
smallest  part  of  the  work  of  design.  There  had  been 
made,  at  least,  a  definite  suggestion  that  the  craft 
designed  be  either  a  three-motor  or  a  five-motor  fly- 
ing boat,  and  certain  guesses,  based  on  extensive 
experience,  as  to  the  general  sizes  and  weight  char- 
acteristics of  these  boats.  With  no  more  than  this 
as  a  basis  of  discussion,  another  conference  was  ar- 
ranged with  Admiral  Taylor,  and  the  result  of  the 
labours  of  the  several  preceding  days  was  presented  to 
him. 

Admiral  Taylor  is  used  to  thinking  in  terms  of 
150,000  to  200,000  horsepower,  as  the  latest  ships 


THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S          39 

designed  by  him  were  for  such  powers,  and  was, 
perhaps,  a  bit  inclined  to  turn  up  his  nose  at  the 
paltry  thousand  horsepower  proposed  for  the  three- 
motored  seaplane.  The  one  of  1,700  horsepower  was 
a  bit  more  impressive  and  in  line  with  his  ideas  of 
what  real  size  should  be. 

After  consideration,  however,  of  the  greater  diffi- 
culties involved,  the  greater  uncertainties  which 
would  be  introduced  by  this  larger  size  into  a  prob- 
lem already  difficult  enough,  the  smaller,  three- 
motored  design,  was  decided  upon. 

The  Liberty  engine,  although  of  the  greatest 
promise,  was  certainly  not  such  a  proved  instrument 
at  that  date  that  we  could  afford  to  gamble  upon  it 
to  an  unnecessary  extent.  It  was  feared  that  the  re- 
sult of  undertaking  the  larger  development  would  be 
a  delay  in  completion  of  such  seriousness  that  we 
could  hardly  have  a  finished  craft  ready  for  use 
during  any  period  for  which  the  war  might  be  ex- 
pected to  extend.  In  the  conclusion  reached  these 
considerations  were  given  much  weight. 

Whether  we  were  right  in  this  or  wrong,  no  one 
could  now  say  with  authority.  Certainly,  with  the 
knowledge  gained  since  that  date,  it  would  be  pos- 
sible to  design  and  build  much  larger,  and  somewhat 
more  efficient,  flying  boats,  but  it  is  possible  we  might 
have  failed  had  we  tried  it  then. 


CHAPTER  III 

MR.  LANCHESTER'S  DICTA — USEFUL-LOAD  PERCENTAGES 

— HANDLEY-PAGE    AND    LIBERTY   MOTORS — THE    NAVY 

DEPARTMENT    ORGANIZATION — CURTISS    CORPORATION 

TAKES  OVER   THE   TASK 


THE  noted  English  authority  on  aeronautics, 
Mr.  F.  H.  Lanchester,  proved,  to  his  own 
satisfaction,  some  years  ago,  that  there  is  a 
limited  size  beyond  [which  heavier-than-air  craft 
cannot  be  constructed.  Fortunately  for  his  own 
reputation,  and  for  the  future  of  the  science,  he  found 
it  possible  to  make  the  reservation  that  his  discussion 
and  proof  applied  merely  to  methods  of  construction 
at  that  time  in  general  use.  The  basis  of  his  demon- 
stration was  a  simple  one.  The  sustaining  power  of 
an  airplane  depends  on  the  area  of  its  wings  and  the 
square  of  its  speed,  whereas  its  weight,  being  a  ques- 
tion of  the  volume  of  its  members,  is  a  function  of  the 
cube  of  its  dimensions.  It  is  quite  evident  from  this 
that  increasing  size  would  rapidly  bring  about  a  state 
of  affairs  which  would  make  flight  impossible. 

Mr.  Lanchester  did  not,  of  course,  suppose 
that  engineers  would  rest  content  with  the  methods 
of  construction  already  adopted,  but  was  merely 
pointing  out  as  an  interesting  discussion  the  limit  in 
size  imposed  by  the  types  of  construction  in  use  at  the 
time  of  his  discussion.  This  discussion  accepted 

40 


THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S          41 

engine  weights  as  they  were,  and  did  not,  of  course, 
attempt  to  argue  that  the  future  would  see  no  re- 
duction in  such  weights. 

Since  the  publication  by  Mr.  Lanchester  of  the 
article  referred  to,  there  had  been  very  pronounced 
improvements  in  aeronautical  engines.  Powers  had 
risen  rapidly  and  weights  per  horsepower  had  fallen. 
This  had  made  possible  building  of  materially  larger 
airplanes  of  the  same  type  of  construction  as 
those  previously  built.  It  was  quite  evident,  how- 
ever, that  the  limits  of  this  type  of  construction, 
although  these  limitations  were  above  those  es- 
tablished theoretically  by  Mr.  Lanchester,  had  been 
very  nearly  reached.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  Com- 
mander Porte's  lack  of  the  fullest  success  with  the 
large  flying  boats  built  by  himself  was  due  to  his 
adherence  to  conventional  methods  of  design.  The 
result  had  been  increased  weight  of  such  an  amount 
that  the  increasing  size  brought  little  advantage 
beyond  the  mere  ability  to  carry  the  greater  struc- 
tural weight  of  the  airplane  itself.  In  one  large 
airplane  only,  of  the  period  of  which  I  speak,  had 
there  been  any  consistent  engineering  investigation  of 
structural  modifications.  In  this  one,  the  Handley- 
Page,  it  had  been  demonstrated  that  the  adoption 
of  new  methods  of  construction  made  possible  larger 
sizes  without  the  increase  in  weight  of  structural 
members  which  an  adherence  to  conventional  con- 
struction would  have  involved. 

The  measure  of  the  success  of  an  airplane,  whether 
of  land  or  of  the  water  type,  is  found  in  what  is  con- 
ventionally designated  as  its  "useful  load."  This  is 


42         THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S 

the  portion  of  the  weight  of  an  airplane,  in  full-load 
flying  condition,  not  contained  in  the  structure  itself. 
It  comprises,  for  an  ordinary  machine,  the  fuel, 
lubricating  oil,  the  cooling  water  for  the  engines,  the 
members  of  the  crew  with  their  clothing,  and  all  of 
the  small,  unattached  accessories  required  for  the 
general  operation  of  an  airplane.  In  military  ma- 
chines this  useful  load  would  also  comprise  guns, 
ammunition,  bombs,  and  the  necessary  accessories 
such  as  sights,  direction  indicators,  etc.  Ordinarily, 
this  measure  of  effectiveness  is  indicated  by  a  per- 
centage, and  among  aeronautical  designers  you  will 
hear  that  such  and  such  a  machine  has  a  useful  load 
of  30  to  40  per  cent.,  or  of  any  percentage  it  may 
happen  to  have,  this  being  the  percentage  of  the 
total  load  represented  by  the  useful  load  as  above 
described.  With  decreasing  weight  per  horsepower 
and  with  increasing  horsepower,  this  useful  load  has 
been  steadily,  though  not  rapidly,  on  the  increase. 
Progress  in  the  design  of  heavier-than-air  craft  can 
be  made  only  if  this  percentage  of  useful  load  can  be 
still  further  increased. 

So  far  as  our  information  extended,  the  useful  load 
of  the  Handley-Page  night  bombers,  those  famous 
British  machines  which  were  the  cause  of  so  much 
annoyance  to  our  late  enemies,  the  Germans,  ex- 
ceeded that  of  any  other  machine  of  any  weight-carry- 
ing ability.  It  was,  roughly,  in  the  neighbourhood 
of  40  per  cent.,  and  this  percentage  set  the  standard 
at  which  we  must  aim.  If  we  could  equal  this  per- 
centage, our  design  would  be  considered  reasonably 
successful.  By  the  extent  to  which  we  fell  below 


THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S         43 

this,  it  mlist  be  considered  as  less  successful,  and  by 
the  amount  to  which  we  reached  above  it,  an  im- 
provement on  the  best  yet  produced.  The  Handley- 
Page  night  bombing  airplane  of  that  period  was 
motored  with  two  275-horsepower  Rolls-Royce  mo- 
tors, and  was  of  a  full  flying  load  of  about  11,000 
pounds.  As  we  started  our  design  on  the  basis  of 
1,000  horsepower,  and  a  full  flying  load  of  approxi- 
mately 25,000  pounds,  it  was  evident  that  improve- 
ments over  the  engineering  structure  of  the  Handley- 
Page  must  be  made  if  a  useful  load  percentage  equal 
to  the  one  of  that  craft  was  to  be  obtained ;  and  that 
very  material  improvements  in  structure  must  be 
secured  if  this  useful  load  ratio  was  to  be  exceeded. 

In  the  Liberty  engine  there  was  available  motive 
power  of  less  weight  per  horsepower  than  in  any 
equally  powerful  engine  in  existence.  It  may  be 
noted  at  this  point  that,  since  the  date  treated  of, 
this  engine  has  undergone  various  modifications 
which  have  increased  its  power  without  a  corjespond- 
ing  increase  in  weight.  To-day  this  engine  is  mate- 
rially lighter  per  horsepower  than  any  other  equally 
powerful  engine  known.  At  the  time  of  the  com- 
mencement of  our  design,  this  lightness  was  of  ma- 
terial value;  since  that  time  the  greater  power  which 
has  been  obtained,  without  a  corresponding  increase 
in  weight,  has  been  of  increasing  value. 

In  designing  the  structure  of  a  large  airplane,  cer- 
tain inescapable  dead  weights,  such  as  those  of  the 
engines,  propellers,  radiators,  gasoline  tanks,  etc., 
must  be  accepted.  In  addition  there  must  be  ac- 
cepted the  weight  of  a  minimum  crew,  and  of  other 


44         THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S 

items  of  this  nature.  It  will  be  found  in  the  final 
weight  analysis  that  the  weight  of  the  final  structure 
is  roughly  three  to  four  times  the  weight  of  the  ines- 
capable items.  If,  therefore,  due  to  the  greater 
lightness  of  an  engine  per  horsepower  there  appears 
in  this  inescapable  dead  weight  an  advantage  of,  say, 
one  hundred  pounds  over  some  other  engine,  there 
will  appear  in  the  finished  airplane  as  a  whole  a  final 
advantage  of  from  three  hundred  to  four  hundred 
pounds  over  an  airplane  designed  for  the  heavier 
engine.  This  was  an  advantage  we  enjoyed  from 
the  Liberty  engine  in  undertaking  the  design  of  this 
large  flying  boat,  and  one  which  has  worked  in  our 
favour  with  every  increase  in  the  power  of  this  great 
engine  which  has  not  involved  a  corresponding  in- 
crease in  weight. 

There  were,  in  September,  1917,  about  twenty 
draftsmen  in  the  aeronautical  design  force  of  the 
Bureau  of  Construction  and  Repair.  The  majority 
of  these  draftsmen  were  immediately  put  to  work  in 
connection  with  certain  important  details  of  design 
of  the  three-motored  flying  boat,  on  which  it  had 
been  decided  to  embark. 

All  structural  elements  such  as  wing  beams,  the 
ribs,  wing  struts,  tail  booms,  and  the  compression 
struts  in  the  wings,  required  many  investigations. 
It  was  found,  very  shortly,  that  these  investigations 
must  be  so  extensive  that  the  technical  force  of  the 
Bureau  of  Construction  and  Repair,  under  Naval 
Constructor  Hunsaker,  would  be  quite  insufficient 
for  undertaking  them.  There  were,  at  this  time, 
many  aeronautical  problems  requiring  immediate 


THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S         45 

investigation,  and  the  burden  upon  the  technical 
department  of  the  Bureau  was  as  great  as  it  could 
carry.  It  was  necessary  to  adopt  some  other  basis  of 
investigation  of  structural  details  and  of  design  of 
the  boat  to  be  built. 

Admiral  Taylor  determined  to  transfer  the  design, 
and  the  major  portion  of  the  investigations  in  connec- 
tion with  it,  to  the  engineering  department  of  the 
Curtiss  Aeroplane  Company  in  Buffalo.  The  Bureau, 
under  an  arrangement  of  this  sort,  would  maintain  a 
close  control  over  the  work,  and  would  exercise  su- 
pervision of  such  a  nature  that  the  design  itself  would 
be  one  largely  representing  the  detailed  opinions  of 
the  Bureau  andt)f  its  representatives.  This  was  a 
decision  promising  many  advantages,  due,  among 
other  things,  to  an  inherent  feature  of  Navy  Depart- 
ment organization.  The  Navy  Department  is  or- 
ganized into  bureaus  dealing  with  certain  definite 
functions.  The  Bureau  of  Construction  and  Repair, 
for  example,  deals  with  the  design  of  the  structures  of 
ships,  or  of  aircraft,  and  of  the  structural  accessories; 
the  Bureau  of  Steam  Engineering  deals  with  the 
design  of  propelling  machinery,  and  of  accessories 
of  the  propelling  machinery;  the  Bureau  of  Ordnance 
deals  with  the  design  of  guns,  ordnance  materials, 
and  their  general  accessories.  These  bureaus  are 
independent  of  each  other,  a  common  control  of 
them  being  exercised  by  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy. 
In  a  design  undertaking  of  the  nature  of  the  one 
under  discussion,  three  bureaus,  at  least,  would  be  in- 
volved, and  the  common  control  of  these  details 
would  be  encountered  at  no  place  short  of  the  Sec- 


46         THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S 

retary  of  the  Navy.  Carrying  out  a  design  of  this 
nature  at  the  Curtiss  plant  would  place  all  details 
under  one  organization.  Although  subject,  to  some 
extent,  to  the  same  divided  authority  commented  on, 
this  division  of  authority  would  be  much  less  import- 
ant than  if  experienced  in  the  Navy  Department, 
since  all  details  would,  in  any  event,  be  under  the 
one  employee  of  the  Curtiss  Company  appointed  to 
general  supervision  of  the  work. 

Up  to  the  point  reached,  the  work  done  had  been 
performed  on  the  initiative  of  Admiral  Taylor,  under 
his  authority  as  Chief  of  one  of  the  Navy  Depart- 
ment bureaus.  To  continue  it  beyond  this  point, 
and  into  a  field  requiring  work  of  other  Navy  De- 
partment bureaus,  involved  approval  and  coopera- 
tion of  these  bureaus.  This  approval  and  coopera- 
tion Admiral  Taylor  now  sought. 

The  organization  of  the  Navy  Department,  when 
understood,  is  logical  and  fairly  simple.  For  the 
uninitiated,  it  is  not  always  easy  to  understand. 
A  project  of  the  nature  of  the  one  referred  to  can  be 
conceived  of  and  initiated  by  any  one  of  the  Navy 
Department  bureaus  concerned  in  any  of  its  details. 
After  such  conception  and  initiation,  it  must,  first 
of  all,  be  approved  by  the  Division  of  Operations. 
This  is  a  division  which  for  the  Navy  Department 
takes  the  place  of  the  General  Staff  in  the  Army. 
It  is  responsible  for  the  general  conduct  of  operations; 
for  the  proper  military  application  and  use  of  all 
military  instruments  and  appliances;  for  the  proper 
military  coordination  of  different  departmental 
divisions;  and  for  the  inclusion  under  the  military 


THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S          47 

requirements  of  all  military  instruments  needed  for 
operations  under  contemplation.  The  actual  pro- 
vision of  such  instruments  is  left  to  the  technical 
departments  specializing  in  such  matters;  the  use 
of  these  instruments  and,  to  a  large  extent,  the 
forethought  which  decrees  their  provision,  lie  with 
the  Division  of  Operations.  The  approval,  by  this 
division,  therefore,  of  the  design  and  building  of  this 
large  flying  boat  was  necessary. 

The  Division  of  Operations  approved  of  the  pro- 
posed design  as  a  military  project;  the  Bureau  of 
Steam  Engineering,  which  would  be  concerned  in 
the  technical  work  of  the  design  in  a  very  great  de- 
gree, added  its  recommendation;  and  with  the  ap- 
proval of  Operations,  and  the  joint  recommendation 
of  Rear-Admiral  Griffin,  of  the  Bureau  of  Steam 
Engineering,  and  Rear- Admiral  Taylor,  of  the  Bureau 
of  Construction  and  Repair,  it  was  ready  for  sub- 
mission to  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy. 

The  reference  of  this  project  to  the  Secretary  of  the 
Navy  secured  very  promptly  his  enthusiastic  ap- 
proval. All  necessary  steps  had  now  been  taken  to 
go  ahead,  and  it  was  possible  to  make  arrange- 
ments for  the  actual  work  of  design.  This  involved 
a  contract  with  the  Curtiss  Aeroplane  and  Motor 
Corporation  for  the  work  to  be  done  by  them. 

To  meet  the  difficulties  of  the  cost  uncertainties, 
a  contract  was  worked  out  on  a  modified  basis  of 
cost,  plus  a  certain  profit  on  the  determined  cost. 
Here  difficulties  were  met  with  in  definitely  drawing 
the  terms  of  the  contract.  There  was  arrived  at,  after 
consideration,  a  contract  in  which  the  Curtiss  Com- 


48          THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S 

pany  undertook  the  work  of  design  on  the  basis  re- 
quired of  it  by  the  Navy  Department,  and  was  to  be 
compensated  as  follows:  All  labour  and  material 
charges  ordinarily  made  directly  against  a  job  of  this 
nature  were  to  be  directly  charged;  to  this  amount 
was  to  be  added  a  charge  of  100  per  cent.,  or  an 
amount  equal  to  the  direct  charges,  for  certain  in- 
tangibles and  indirect  expenses;  and  to  the  sum  of 
these  two  amounts  there  was  to  be  added  a  profit 
of  10  per  cent.  The  total  amount  thus  obtained 
would  represent  the  cost  to  the  Navy  Department. 

Among  the  items  referred  to  as  intangibles  were 
considered  to  be  a  number  of  elements,  the  value 
of  which,  or  the  relation  of  which  to  the  cost  of  work 
of  this  nature,  could  not  be  definitely  ascertained. 
The  existence  of  the  Curtiss  Aeroplane  and  Motor 
Corporation  as  an  organization  had  been  brought 
about  as  the  result  of  a  number  of  years  of  effort  and 
expenditure.  The  momentum  of  this  organization 
was  of  value,  and  in  a  portion  of  the  100  per  cent, 
for  intangibles  this  was  to  be  taken  into  considera- 
tion. The  engineering  experience  and  suggestions 
of  Mr.  Glenn  Curtiss,  and  of  the  engineers  under 
him,  were  also  of  value,  and  would  be  utilized  in 
connection  with  this  design.  No  possible  measuring 
device,  however,  could  determine  the  extent  to 
which  the  cost  to  the  Curtiss  Company  for  their  ser- 
vices and  experience  could  be  proportioned  to  any 
one  project  as  compared  to  the  others,  and  in  the 
100  per  cent,  for  intangibles  it  was  the  intention  of 
the  parties  to  the  contract  that  an  allowance  be 
included  for  such  services.  In  addition,  there  were 


THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S         49 

represented  in  this  100  per  cent,  the  ordinarily 
understood  items  of  overhead  expenses  commonly 
distributed  in  commercial  organizations,  such  as 
power,  rent,  heat  and  light,  depreciation,  insurance, 
etc.,  items  accurately  determinable  in  their  totals, 
but  impossible  of  definite  distribution  to  individual 
items  in  progress. 


CHAPTER  IV 

CHARACTERISTICS  OF  THE  CURTISS  CORPORATION  PER- 
SONNEL— EXPERIENCE  OF  THE  NAVY  EXPERTS — FIRST 
PLANS  TOO  AMBITIOUS  WITH  MEANS  THEN  AVAILABLE 

THE  city  of  Buffalo,  on  Lake  Erie,  has  been 
identified  with  the  development  of  large 
flying  boats.  It  was  in  Buffalo  that  the 
Curtiss  Company  built  their  factory  very  shortly 
after  the  outbreak  of  the  World  War.  Up  to  this 
time  flying  boat  sizes  attempted  by  them  had  not 
been  very  great.  In  their  plant  located  at  Ham- 
mondsport,  New  York,  they  had  constructed,  for 
Lieutenant  Cyril  Forte's  projected  attempt  to 
cross  the  Atlantic,  the  flying  boat  America,  which 
represented  the  largest  flying  boat  design  up  to  that 
time.  At  the  Buffalo  plant,  however,  they  very  soon 
produced  flying  boats  of  a  much  larger  type,  although 
there  were  no  engines  at  that  time  available  in  this 
country  for  power.  These  boats  were,  accordingly, 
shipped  to  England  without  engines,  and  were  there 
fitted  with  Rolls-Royce  engines.  In  one  type  of 
aircraft  alone  did  the  United  States,  up  to  the  time 
of  our  entry  into  the  World  War,  possess  designs  of 
equal  merit  with  those  developed  on  the  other  side. 
This  was  in  flying  boats.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  Mr. 
Glenn  Curtiss's  work  in  the  development  of  water 
flying  craft  was  of  such  a  nature  that  the  result  has 

50 


THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S         51 

been  that  the  United  States,  if  anything,  has  been 
ahead  of  the  remainder  of  the  world  in  the  develop- 
ment of  such  craft.  It  is  some  small  satisfaction  to 
know  that  the  country  which  first  developed  the 
airplane  at  least  held  as  much  priority  in  progress 
as  this,  and  with  this  progress  Glenn  Curtiss  and  the 
Curtiss  organization  are  indissolubly  associated. 

In  Buffalo  the  Curtiss  Company  was  located  in 
various  buildings  in  several  portions  of  the  city.  Only 
one  of  these  buildings  had  been  built  especially  for  the 
Curtiss  Company,  or  for  airplane  construction  work. 
The  others  had  been  rented  for  their  availability, 
or  because  they  could  be  secured  for  low  rentals. 

The  Experimental  Engineering  Department  was 
located  in  an  old  building  on  the  Niagara  River  at  the 
foot  of  Austin  Street.  This  building  had,  at  one 
time,  been  the  power  station  of  an  electric  lighting 
concern,  supplying  light  and  power  to  that  section  of 
the  city.  It  had  been  vacant  for  years  and,  as  may 
well  be  imagined,  was  in  disrepair  and  little  suited 
to  the  purpose  for  which  it  was  employed.  In  it, 
however,  had  been  assembled  the  personnel  of  the 
Experimental  Engineering  Department,  and  in  it  was 
done  the  experimental  engineering  work  for  the  Cur- 
tiss organization. 

The  Curtiss  organization  has  been  a  never-ending 
source  of  wonderment  to  most  persons  connected 
with  the  Navy  Department  who  have  come  into 
contact  with  it.  Up  to  the  outbreak  of  the  World 
War,  when  a  sudden  expansion  took  place  in  its 
activities,  it  was  founded  very  much  on  the  basis  of 
a  particularly  congenial  family.  Mr.  Curtiss  was 


52          THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S 

the  head  of  this  family.  He  was  the  undoubted 
head — the  fountain  of  inspiration  and  the  provider 
of  all  good  things.  When  times  were  hard,  which 
they  have  often  been,  all  suffered  together.  When 
times  improved,  they  all  benefited  together.  When 
it  became  possible  to  provide  good  things  for  this 
family,  Mr.  Curtiss  was  unquestionably  a  "good 
provider"  and  stinted  his  family  for  nothing.  It  is 
probable  that,  at  all  times,  the  wages  and  salaries 
in  the  Curtiss  Company  have  been  considerably 
higher  than  those  which  would  have  been  enjoyed 
by  the  recipients  elsewhere.  Often,  it  is  proba*ble, 
they  did  not  receive  these  wages  or  salaries,  but  this 
was  a  misfortune,  and  in  no  sense  any  one's  fault, 
and  was  due,  merely,  to  the  absence  of  funds,  and 
certainly  not  to  anybody's  disinclination  to  disburse 
them.  Some  fell  by  the  wayside  under  this  rise  and 
fall  of  family  fortune;  but  those  who  stuck  came 
into  their  reward  when  the  Great  War  broke  out 
and  their  organization  was  given  large  contracts  by 
the  British  Government.  As  a  result  of  these  con- 
tracts, their  organization  immediately  became  the 
object  of  considerable  solicitude  on  the  part  of  finan- 
ciers who  were  engaged  in  the  laudable  enterprise 
of  spoon-feeding  war  babies.  It  grew  accordingly. 
A  plant  of  considerable  size  was  built  in  Buffalo; 
the  other  buildings  referred  to  were  taken  over;  they 
embarked  on  large  and  profitable  contracts  for  the 
British  Government;  and,  if  signs  do  not  fail,  made 
money.  The  head  of  the  family  is  as  shrewd  as  he  is 
kindly.  He  looked  out  for  the  interests  of  his 
associates  as  he  did  for  those  of  himself.  Those 


THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S          53 

who  had  been  loyal  to  him  through  thick  and  thin, 
and  who  had  found  him  loyal  to  them,  found  that 
this  loyalty  was  not  one  of  degree  only,  but  was  a 
temperamental  characteristic.  His  associates  found 
themselves  with  real  salaries  even  further  raised, 
and  with  considerable  quantities  of  stock  in  an  or- 
ganization quoted  on  curb  exchanges  at  rapidly  in- 
creasing values.  The  small  group  of  associates  held 
together  by  a  common  interest,  common  affection, 
and  by  the  genius  of  their  family  head,  now  found 
themselves  financiers  and  the  possessors  of  real 
liquid  assets. 

One  other  effect,  however,  sprang  from  the  sud- 
den development  of  the  situation.  The  organiza- 
tion building  two  airplanes,  or  a  half  dozen,  may 
whittle  them  out  by  hand  and  build  them  as  an  in- 
dividual or  family  matter.  The  organization  with 
an  order  on  its  books  for  a  thousand  airplanes  must 
manufacture  them.  A  difference  is  introduced  as 
great  as  that  from  the  North  to  the  South  Pole,  or 
as  that  of  the  temperament  of  two  men.  Under  the 
strain  of  manufacturing  airplanes,  the  Curtiss  family 
showed  weaknesses.  There  were  then  called  in  manu- 
facturing experts.  The  experts  took  charge  and 
decided,  to  their  own  satisfaction,  that  the  members 
of  the  Curtiss  family  were  not  manufacturers,  and 
must  not  be  allowed  to  become  such.  Something, 
however,  must  be  done  with  them.  They  were 
the  real  owners  and  controllers  of  the  organization 
and  could  not  be  calmly  and  blandly  invited  to  get 
out.  Accordingly,  there  was  developed  for  them, 
as  one  by  one  they  were  displaced  from  positions  u? 


54          THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S 

the  manufacturing  organization,  an  experimental 
engineering  plant  where  they  could  experiment 
and  develop  to  their  hearts'  content,  hold  their 
family  organization  intact,  and  continue  on  the  same 
old  status  they  had  found  so  attractive  in  the  past. 
From  this  grew  and  developed  the  engineering  de- 
partment in  the  old  power  house  on  Austin  Street. 
Mr.  Curtiss  was  still  the  head  of  the  whole  organ- 
ization and  his  office  was  in  the  main  plant.  His 
heart  and  his  mind,  however,  were  in  the  Austin 
Street  plant  with  Harry,  and  Henry,,  and  Carl,  and 
the  rest  of  the  boys. 

Into  the  midst  of  this  happy  family  was  introduced 
the  waif  of  whom  I  have  been  speaking.  To  their 
tender  mercies  it  was  to  be,  in  a  great  degree,  com- 
mitted. 

The  first  difficulty  encountered  was  in  connec- 
tion with  the  name.  Upon  the  few  plans  presented 
by  the  Curtiss  Company,  indicating  their  ideas  of  a 
big  flying  boat  design,  the  name  of  the  design  had 
been  given  as  TH.  These  letters  were  chosen  from 
the  Curtiss  series,  whereby  designs  are  indicated  in 
sequence,  and  had  no  other  significance.  It  seemed 
to  me  that  a  design  of  such  size  and  of  such  ambitious 
intentions  should  be  dignified  by  a  name  more 
definite  than  two  meaningless  letters  and  I  changed 
this  name  to  D.  W.  T.  These  were  the  initials  of 
Rear-Admiral  David  W.  Taylor's  name.  I  had  not, 
however,  [consulted  Admiral  Taylor  regarding  this 
matter,  and  upon  discussion  with  other  men  in  the 
Construction  Corps,  I  decided  that  such  a  name  would 
fail  to  find  his  favour.  Once  more  the  name  was 


THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S         55 

changed.  This  time  I  chose  the  name  of  N.C.I. 
Under  this  name  the  design  has  developed  and  grown; 
the  flying  boats  have  been  built  and  flown.  In  this 
name,  the  N  is  for  Navy,  the  C  for  Curtiss,  and  the 
1  indicates  the  first  of  a  series  of  joint  Navy-Curtiss 
designs.  This  name,  changed  since  to  simply  N.C., 
has  stuck  and  has  given  general  satisfaction,  and  may 
be  accepted  as  permanently  indicating  the  type. 

Up  to  the  time  the  design  of  this  three-motored 
boat  was  undertaken  by  the  Curtiss  Company,  it  is 
probable  no  design  prepared  by  them  had  been 
worked  out  in  the  amount  of  detail  desirable  for  a 
design  of  N.C.  dimensions. 

It  was  desired  that  this  design  should  be  worked 
out  in  complete  detail  so  we  would  know  as  definitely 
as  can  be  known  from  previous  calculations  what  to 
expect  from  seaplanes  built  to  it.  This  entailed  con- 
trol of  the  Curtiss  design  work  by  the  Navy  Depart- 
ment, and  required  a  thoroughness  of  preliminary 
design  foreign  to  practice  at  that  time.  The  way 
they  adapted  themselves  to  the  unusual  conditions 
under  which  the  work  was  done  was  creditable  and 
helpful  in  the  extreme. 

There  were  times,  of  course,  when  things  seemed  to 
be  progressing  not  any  too  well,  when  some  members 
of  the  organization  would  gently  complain  that  their 
ideas  were  not  allowed  full  liberty  of  expression. 
They  were  right.  No  one's  ideas  were  allowed  such 
expression.  No  one  of  the  Navy  Department  or  of 
the  Curtiss  organization  possessed  sufficient  experi- 
ence in  the  fields  we  were  exploring  to  be  entitled 
to  such  confidence,  and  the  Navy  Department  was 


56          THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S 

compelled  to  pursue  the  matter  in  its  own  way. 
With  these  methods  the  Curtiss  personnel  assigned 
to  the  job  were  always  in  loyal  and  earnest  coopera- 
tion. At  times  there  was  a  lag  in  effort,  but  this 
always  results  when  men  are  being  driven  as  hard 
as  were  those  working  on  this  design.  For  the  men 
actually  rubbing  noses  with  the  details  no  hours  of 
labour  were  too  long,  and  many  a  one  of  them  has 
worked  often  all  day  and  most  of  the  night  in  clearing 
up  a  difficult  point. 

From  first  to  last  there  were  many  of  the  officers 
of  the  Navy  Department  who  made  important  con- 
tributions to  the  design  and  construction  work 
necessary  in  these  boats.  As  the  aeronautical 
assistant  to  the  Chief  of  the  Bureau  of  Steam  En- 
gineering Rear-Admiral  Griffin,  Commander  A.  K. 
Atkins  had  supervision  of  all  work  related  to  power 
plant,  gasoline  supply,  etc.  Immediately  subject 
to  his  division  of  the  Bureau  of  Steam  Engineering 
were  Commander  H.  T.  Dyer,  Lieut. -Commander 
H.  W.  Scofield,  of  the  Navy,  and  Captain  N.  M. 
Hall,  of  the  Coast  Guard,  under  whose  supervision 
many  details  were  solved.  The  work  performed  by 
these  officers  was  of  the  greatest  importance  and 
upon  its  success,  of  course,  was  dependent  the  suc- 
cess of  the  boats.  From  the  nature  of  the  design 
as  a  whole,  however,  their  work  must  stick  largely 
to  practice  already  common,  whereas  that  of  the 
designers  of  the  structure  must  depart  almost  en- 
tirely from  the  common,  to  branch  out  into  new  and 
unexplored  fields.  If  in  a  description  of  this  work 
the  men  who  did  the  power  plant  work  may  seem  to 


THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S         57 

be  neglected,  these  facts,  and  in  no  degree  any  lesser 
importance  of  their  work,  must  be  held  responsible. 
It  happens  that  this  new  work  came  mainly  under 
the  control  of  the  Bureau  of  Construction  and  Repair, 
since  it  was,  in  a  major  degree,  connected  with  the 
structure  and,  as  a  result,  fell  to  the  supervision  of 
Naval  Constructor  H.  C.  Richardson,  Naval  Con- 
structor J.  C.  Hunsaker,  and  myself.  Since  these 
are  the  facts  it  may  be  of  interest  to  examine,  briefly, 
the  aeronautical  experience  brought  by  ourselves 
to  this  work  of  supervision  of  design  carried  on  in 
territory  until  then  unexplored  in  the  aeronautical 
development  of  the  United  States. 

In  1914,  while  I  was  stationed  in  Seattle,  Wash- 
ington, in  connection  with  naval  shipbuilding  work 
in  progress  there,  I  became  interested,  with  Mr.  W.  E. 
Boeing,  of  that  city,  now  the  head  of  the  Boeing 
Airplane  Company,  in  aeronautical  matters.  We 
took  a  few  flights  in  a  small  Curtiss  type  flying  boat 
then  near  that  city,  and  Mr.  Boeing  became  so 
enthusiastic  that  he  decided  to  buy  a  seaplane  for  his 
own  use,  and  asked  my  opinion  regarding  the  type  it 
should  be.  I  made  inquiries  of  the  various  manu- 
facturers of  airplanes  then  attempting  to  develop 
the  aeronautical  industry  in  this  country,  regarding 
the  seaplanes  built  by  them.  I  could  find  none  I 
was  willing  to  recommend,  and,  to  my  astonish- 
ment, Mr.  Boeing  one  day  stated  that  if  I  would 
design  a  seaplane  he  would  have  two  of  them  built 
in  a  boat-building  shop  he  owned.  I  knew  so  little 
about  the  subject,  so  little  of  the  difficulties  involved, 
that  I  agreed  to  undertake  it. 


58         THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S 

To  all  of  my  acquaintances  who  knew  anything  of 
seaplanes,  to  everyone  else  of  any  knowledge  of  the 
subject  on  whose  courtesy  I  could  presume,  I  wrote 
for  information,  and,  having  collected  all  I  could  get, 
designed  a  seaplane  with  two  pontoons,  for  a  140- 
horsepower,  six-cylinder,  Hall-Scott  motor.  In  this 
seaplane  there  was  little  original:  I  had  picked  here 
and  there  the  features  of  airplane  design  which 
seemed  to  me  simplest  and  soundest,  and,  combining 
them,  had  developed  a  design  from  them.  Mr. 
Boeing  built  two  of  them  and,  impossible  as  it  un- 
doubtedly seems,  they  were  remarkably  successful. 
After  using  these  two  seaplanes  for  a  year  and  a  half 
Mr.  Boeing  sold  them  to  the  Government  of  New 
Zealand. 

This  had  two  results:  Mr.  Boeing  decided  to 
become  a  manufacturer  of  airplanes,  and  built  a 
plant  in  Seattle  for  the  purpose;  when  the  naval 
aviation  programme  was  expanded  shortly  before 
our  entry  into  the  war,  I  was  placed  by  Admiral 
Taylor  in  general  charge  of  all  aircraft  inspection 
and  construction  coming  under  his  Bureau  of  the 
Navy  Department.  In  this  position  I  became  con- 
nected with  the  N.C.  boats  when  the  World  Drama 
brought  them  on  the  stage. 

Of  Naval  Constructors  Richardson  and  Hun- 
saker  the  tales  are  quite  different  from  my  own. 

The  interest  of  Commander  H.  C.  Richardson  in 
aeronautics  dates  back  a  number  of  years,  and  in 
several  respects  he  is  the  pioneer  of  the  Aeronautical 
Fraternity  of  the  Navy. 

As  far  back  as  1890  he  was  interested  in,  studied, 


THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S          59 

and  designed  parachutes,  and  even  built  one  of  these 
devices  for  easing  his  descent  from  the  ridge  of  the 
family  barn.  In  1895  he  designed  and  built  several 
light  canoes,  a  type  of  structure  definitely  a  fore- 
runner of  the  pontoons  used  for  seaplanes. 

His  transfer  from  the  line  of  the  Navy  to  the  Con- 
struction Corps  was  partly  due  to  his  desire  to  take 
up  the  study  of  aeronautical  design  and  construc- 
tion. After  his  graduation  from  the  special  course 
for  naval  constructors  at  the  Massachusetts  In- 
stitute of  Technology,  in  1907,  his  interest  in  such 
matters  rapidly  crystallized  into  definite  forms.  He 
worked  on  design  questions;  took  every  opportunity 
presented  in  those  early  days  of  aviation  to  make 
flights;  and,  in  1911,  built  and  tested  a  glider  at  the 
Philadelphia  Navy  Yard. 

This  glider  was  one  of  the  first  to  be  built  without 
front  elevators.  With  this  glider,  however,  his  ex- 
perience was  far  from  encouraging.  When  it  was 
completed,  he  hitched  it  to  a  motor  car,  took  his 
place  in  it,  and  gave  the  word.  Nothing  unusual 
happened  until  the  speed  of  the  car  was  about  25 
miles  per  hour,  and  then  the  glider  shot  up  in  the 
air  at  an  angle  of  about  45°,  changed  its  mind,  and 
returned  to  the  earth  at  a  similar  angle,  but  with  con- 
siderably greater  velocity.  It  is  possible  to  mention 
this  occurrence  in  such  a  cheerful  style  as,  happily, 
in  the  ensuing  total  wreck  none  of  Commander  Rich- 
ardson's bones  were  broken,  and  he  was  damaged  in 
a  very  minor  degree  only. 

In  1913,  Commander  Richardson  qualified  as  a 
naval  aviator,  and  since  that  date  his  services  have 


60         THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S 

been  employed  entirely  in  an  aeronautical  capacity. 
At  the  Washington  Navy  Yard  he  had  a  valuable 
experience  with  tests  of  airplane  floats  and  airplane 
boat  hull  models  in  the  towing  tank,  and  laid  firmly 
the  foundation  for  his  future  success  in  the  design 
of  elements  of  this  nature.  There,  too,  in  1914,  he 
designed  and  built  a  twin-engined  seaplane,  which, 
at  that  time,  was  the  largest  plane  of  this  type  in  the 
world. 

From  Washington  he  was  transferred  to  the  Air 
Station  at  Pensacola,  Florida.  There  he  continued 
the  work,  commenced  in  Washington,  in  connection 
with  boat  hulls,  pontoons,  general  airplane  designs, 
and  devices  for  launching  planes  from  shipboard,  and 
was,  in  addition,  charged  with  a  very  important  pro- 
portion of  the  upkeep  work  of  that  training  base. 
It  was  from  Pensacola  that  he  went  to  Buffalo  and 
afterward  to  Garden  City,  to  do  his  very  important 
part  in  the  designing  of  the  N.C.  boats.  Later  he  was 
stationed  in  Buffalo  in  charge  of  the  work  of  the 
Bureau  of  Construction  and  Repair  at  the  Curtiss 
Aeroplane  Company's  plants  in  that  place. 

In  addition  to  his  work  in  the  design  field,  Com- 
mander Richardson  has  done  much  valuable  test 
flying,  both  in  craft  of  his  own  design  and  in  those 
designed  by  others.  The  ability  to  pilot  a  plane 
has  been  of  great  assistance  to  him  in  the  working  out 
of  problems  with  which  he  has  been  confronted. 

Naval  Constructor  Jerome  C.  Hunsaker,  while 
engaged  on  post-graduate  work  at  the  Massachusetts 
Institute  of  Technology,  in  Boston,  after  his  gradua- 
tion from  the  Naval  Academy,  became  so  much  inter- 


THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S          61 

ested  in  aeronautics  that  he  was  encouraged  to  take 
up  specialization  in  that  field;  and  he  has  continued 
in  it  ever  since.  While  still  a  post-graduate  student, 
he  translated  from  the  French  the  fundamental  work 
of  Monsieur  Eiffel,  "The  Resistance  of  the  Air,  and 
Aviation,"  on  which  much  of  the  progress  in  aero- 
nautics in  this  country  and  abroad  has  been  based. 
This  was  published  both  in  this  country  and  in 
England. 

In  1913,  shortly  after  completing  his  post-graduate 
course,  he  was  sent  abroad  by  the  Navy  Depart- 
ment to  investigate  and  report  upon  the  state  of  the 
aeronautical  arts  and  sciences  in  England,  France, 
and  Germany.  Upon  his  return  to  the  United 
States  he  was  detailed  by  the  Navy  Department, 
at  the  request  of  the  Massachusetts  Institute  of 
Technology,  in  Boston,  to  organize  there  a  course 
for  post-graduate  students  in  aeronautical  engineer- 
ing, and  to  install  there  and  place  in  operation  an 
aerodynamic  laboratory.  In  this  work  he  continued 
until  1916,  and  his  influence  upon  aeronautical 
development  in  the  United  States  while  at  the  In- 
stitute, and  since  leaving  it,  has  been  of  the  greatest 
importance. 

His  contributions  to  the  literature  of  aeronautics, 
his  investigations  and  discussions  of  difficult  prob- 
lems, have  been  numerous  and  valuable.  They  have 
comprised  such  subjects  as: 

Aeroplane  Design. 

Theory  of  Similitude  of  Aerial  Propellers. 

Aerodynamics  of  the  Triplane. 

Dynamical  Stability  of  Aeroplanes. 


62         THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S 

Reports  on  Wind  Tunnel  Experiments  in  Aero- 
dynamics. 

Stable  Biplane  Arrangements. 

It  may  be  of  interest  that  the  Boeing  Airplane 
Company,  of  Seattle,  designed  and  built  a  number  of 
airplanes  based  on  this  last  paper,  and  that  they  are 
remarkable  in  the  ease  with  which  they  may  be  flown, 
and  in  the  extent  to  which  they  can  fly  and  control 
themselves,  if  the  pilot  desires  to  permit  this. 

In  1916,  Mr.  Hunsaker  was  detailed  for  duty  in 
Washington,  where  he  was  placed  by  Admiral  Taylor 
in  charge  of  the  aeronautical  activities  of  the  Bureau 
of  Construction  and  Repair  of  the  Navy  Depart- 
ment centring  in  that  city.  This  section  of  the 
Bureau  expanded  rapidly  from  five  to  one  hundred 
and  fifty  men,  and  had  charge  during  the  war  of  all 
matters  affecting  design  and  construction  of  lighter- 
than-air  and  heavier-than-air  craft  for  which  the 
Bureau  of  Construction  and  Repair  was  respon- 
sible. 

Up  in  Buffalo,  where  work  was  soon  proceeding, 
the  men  working  on  the  job  soon  became  fired  with 
an  ambition  which  was  partly  hope,  and  permitted 
themselves  to  day-dream  a  bit.  Results,  however 
improbable,  ceased  to  be  impossible.  We  could  see 
flying  boats  doing  as  we  had  been  told  they  must — 
flying  from  Newfoundland  to  Ireland,  and  ready,  able, 
and,  as  far  as  a  flying  boat  can  be,  willing  the  next 
day  to  blow  a  submarine  to  perdition. 

We  were  determined  that  a  craft  should  be  produced 
which  could  do  the  job.  This  called  for  one  weigh- 
ing 26,000  pounds.  Of  this  amount,  approximately 


THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S         63 

12,000  pounds  would  be  required  for  oil  and  gasoline. 
A  useful  load  slightly  in  excess  of  50  per  cent,  was 
hoped  for.  This  is  very  much  better  than  the 
Handley-Page  night  bomber,  and  represented  opti- 
mism of  a  high  order.  With  the  decreasing  con- 
sumption of  gasoline  as  the  weight  fell  off  greater 
radius  per  unit  consumption  of  gasoline  could  be  ob- 
tained, and  it  was  estimated  that  it  would  be  possible 
to  cover  with  this  boat  the  1,933  miles  involved 
without  placing  any  reliance  upon  the  wind  for  as- 
sistance. Accordingly,  the  dimensions  were  laid  out 
on  this  basis. 

We  estimated  a  load  of  eight  pounds  per  square 
foot,  which  would  require  a  wing  area  of  3,250  square 
feet.  A  wing  chord  of  fourteen  feet  was  chosen; 
and  other  general  dimensions  of  the  craft  were  de- 
cided upon  as  follows: 

Upper  wing  span  140  feet 
Lower  wing  span  110  feet 
Length,  over  all  82  feet 

With  these  dimensions,  the  preliminary  details  were 
worked  out. 

When  this  preliminary  design  was  about  half  com- 
pleted, Naval  Constructor  H.  C.  Richardson  arrived 
from  the  Naval  Air  Station  at  Pensacola  for  tem- 
porary duty  in  connection  with  this  work.  He  ex- 
pressed immediate  doubts  of  the  possibility  of  accom- 
plishing the  result  aimed  at  with  the  horsepower  to 
be  employed,  but  the  design  was  proceeded  with. 
In  a  week  or  ten  days  more  it  was  far  enough 
advanced  to  make  possible  the  estimates  of  per- 


64          THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S 

formance.  Naval  Constructor  Hunsaker  came  up 
from  Washington,  bringing  with  him  all  the  latest 
coefficients  of  resistance,  just  received  from  the  Na- 
tional Physical  Laboratory  of  Great  Britain,  and  we 
fell  to  work  on  the  estimates. 

Richardson  was  right!  The  result  was  most  dis- 
appointing. Instead  of  a  cruising  radius  of  1,933 
miles,  necessary  for  flight  from  Newfoundland  to 
Ireland,  there  was  indicated  one  of  1,300  only, 
barely  sufficient  for  a  flight  to  the  Azores.  The  resist- 
ance of  the  seaplane  would  be  so  great  that  its  speed 
and  consequent  radius  of  flight  would  be  small.  Fur- 
ther estimates  indicated  that  we  could  do  quite  as 
well  with  a  smaller  boat,  and  that  the  "all-the- 
way-across"  flight  was  probably  impracticable  with 
three  "direct-drive"  Liberty  engines. 

In  the  carrying  of  this  design  as  far  as  it  had  gone 
there  had  already  been  encountered  many  of  the 
difficulties  expected  from  work  of  this  nature  under- 
taken with  so  little  information  and  so  little  previous 
experience.  It  appeared  most  undesirable  to  em- 
bark on  a  design  of  even  greater  dimensions  than  the 
one  undertaken,  in  which  even  the  uncertainties 
with  which  we  were  being  confronted  were  of  such 
great  proportions.  To  a  certain  extent  we  were 
whipped  and  had  to  admit  it.  Though  I  was  respon- 
sible for  the  insistence  which  had  caused  us  to  spend 
several  weeks  chasing  an  impossibility,  Richardson 
and  Hunsaker  generously  shared  with  me  in  the  down- 
fall. To  Washington  we  went,  and  told  Admiral 
Taylor  of  our  plight. 

Doubtless,  the  Admiral  was  expecting  us,  had  won- 


THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S         65 

dered,  perhaps,  what  had  kept  us  away  so  long,  and 
was  ready  with  his  answer.  He  relieved  us  vastly 
by  letting  us  off  with  a  problem  only  half  again  as 
difficult  as  any  one  had  yet  been  able  to  answer. 
"Build  the  smaller  design,  and  we'll  go  by  way  of  the 
Azores."  With  this  smaller  design,  it  seemed  practi- 
cable to  make  a  flight  to  the  Azores,  and  refuelling 
there,  to  continue  the  flight  to  Portugal,  one  of  our 
allies.  And  so  it  was  necessary  to  dismiss  the  idea 
of  a  Newfoundland-to-ireland  flight,  except  on  the 
basis  of  a  stop  in  mid-ocean  for  refuelling  from  a  ship. 

We  had  in  sight,  at  that  time,  no  engine  of  suf- 
ficient power  so  constructed  as  to  permit  of  a  smaller 
number  of  revolutions  of  the  propeller  than  were 
given  by  the  engine  itself.  An  engine  of  this  type 
is  referred  to  briefly  as  a  "geared-down"  engine. 
Over  the  other  type,  referred  to  as  a  "direct-drive" 
engine,  it  has,  throughout  the  greater  portion  of  the 
flying  range  of  an  airplane,  a  marked  advantage. 
We  realized  that  geared-down  engines,  of  similar 
power  to  the  direct-drive  engines  we  were  contem- 
plating using,  would  improve  greatly  the  perform- 
ance of  the  design  being  produced,  but  it  appeared 
unlikely  that  any  would  be  available  soon  enough  for 
our  needs  and  we  could  not  consider  them  at  all. 

In  these  few  weeks  we  had  been  forced  to  accept 
the  practical  certainty  that  the  target  aimed  at  by 
us  was  too  distant  for  us  to  hit.  We  had  to  admit, 
very  reluctantly,  that,  so  far  as  our  knowledge  could 
carry  us,  the  art  of  airplane  design  had  not  yet 
reached  a  point  permitting  us  to  accomplish  com- 
pletely the  task  set.  With  the  experience  we  have 


66         THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S 

gained  since  then,  and  the  knowledge  we  have  ac- 
quired from  the  design  produced,  we  could  have 
adopted  certain  fairly  simple  modifications  of  the  first 
design,  which  would  have  added  very  materially  to 
its  flight  radius,  and  might  even  have  made  it  prac- 
ticable for  it  to  accomplish  an  "  all-the-way-across" 
flight.  This  would  have  been,  briefly,  the  mainte- 
nance of  the  size  as  originally  decided  upon,  and  the 
addition  of  one  more  engine.  The  uncertainties 
were  so  considerable,  however,  and  the  amount  of 
weight  we  had  decided  upon  as  capable  of  being 
carried  by  each  square  foot  of  wing  surface  was  al- 
ready so  far  beyond  contemporary  practice,  that 
it  did  not  seem  practicable,  from  such  a  modifica- 
tion, to  accomplish  the  object  aimed  at.  As  will 
be  seen  later,  the  addition  of  another  engine  was  the 
very  modification  which  was  adopted  finally  for 
increasing  the  flight  radius  of  these  craft.  From 
the  resulting  improvement,  with  a  wing  loading 
enormously  increased  beyond  anything  which  had 
been  experienced  when  this  design  was  started,  it 
seems  quite  certain  that,  with  the  greater  wing  area 
provided  in  the  original  tentative  design,  even  better 
results  would  have  been  obtained  had  it  been  con- 
sidered practicable  to  install  an  additional  engine, 
and  to  continue  the  design  on  the  basis  of  the  dimen- 
sions originally  laid  down. 

With  enthusiasms  somewhat  dulled,  for  the  time 
being,  by  our  unexpected  setback,  we  again  went  to 
work  to  produce  the  details  for  a  flying  boat  of  a  total 
weight  of  22,000  pounds  and  an  estimated  flight 
radius  of  at  least  1,300  miles. 


THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S         67 

We  may  now  survey  the  general  dimensions  of  the 
design  resulting  from  the  labours  just  described : 

Wing  span,  upper         126  feet 
Lower  wing  94  feet 

Wing  chord  12  feet 

Gap  between  wings        13  feet  6  inches  at  centre 

12  feet  at  outer  wing  struts 
Over  all  length  67  feet  3f  inches 

Length  of  boat  hull        45  feet  9  inches 
Beam  of         "     "  10  feet 

Wing  area  2,380  square  feet 

Weight,  empty          11,500  pounds 
Weight,  full  load      22,000 
Engine  power  1,000  horsepower 


CHAPTER  V 

IMPORTANCE  OP  LOW  WEIGHT  PER  HORSEPOWER 
AND  OF  STREAMLINES — WING  SECTION  DESIGN — STRUT 
EXPERIMENTS — HULL  AND  TAIL  DESIGNS — USE  OF 
ALUMINUM — POWER  PLANT  INSTALLATION — A  SAFETY 
FACTOR  OF  FOUR 

A  AIRPLANE  looks  like  a  very  simple  thing; 
but  do  not  be  misled  by  looks,  it  isn't!    If 
I  tried  to  tell  you  how  complicated  it  really 
is,  and  to  describe  the  calculating  and  designing  of  each 
portion,  you  would  drop  this  book  very  quickly,  and  in 
no  friendly  spirit.     Things  one  would  bother  about 
very  little  in  other  types  of  construction,  in  airplanes 
make  the  difference  between  flying  and  not  flying. 

Take  weight,  for  example.  In  a  house,  or  a  ship, 
or  a  motor  car,  weight  is  important,  but  nobody 
wastes  sleep  over  a  few  pounds  here  and  there.  But 
in  an  airplane  it  is  so  important  to  avoid  all  unnec- 
essary weight  that  designers  try  and  try  again,  de- 
sign and  re-design,  test  this  and  that,  investigate 
every  practicable  material  they  can  think  of,  until 
every  part  of  the  plane  is  as  light  as  it  can  possibly 
be  for  the  strength  required.  It  was  weight  which 
kept  man  from  flying  for  so  many  centuries;  and  until 
he  learned  to  build  engines  which  weighed  only  a  few 
pounds  per  horsepower,  and  the  rest  of  the  structure 
in  harmony,  he  was  tied  down  to  the  earth. 

m 


THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S         69 

When  the  Wrights  first  started  their  experiments 
with  flight  they  used  gliders,  very  lightly  built,  for 
which  the  motive  power  was  the  force  of  gravity, 
as  they  would  fly  these  gliders  from  low  hills,  and 
really  coast  down  the  air.  But  when  they  began 
to  think  about  power-driven  flight  they  had  to  con- 
sider the  weight  of  the  engine,  and  then  much  more 
real  trouble  began.  When  they  attempted  to  secure 
an  engine  to  fly  with,  of  a  weight  of  not  more  than 
20  pounds  per  horsepower,  they  were  told  by  gaso- 
line engine  manufacturers  that  their  order  was  un- 
fillable.  It  was  not  unfillable,  but  they  had  to  be- 
come gasoline  engine  designers  and  manufacturers, 
and  fill  it  themselves.  Two  poor,  young  bicycle 
mechanics  solved,  first  of  all,  the  principles  of  flight 
on  which  scientists  had  worked  for  centuries,  and 
then,  invading  the  entirely  strange  field  of  gasoline 
engineering,  designed  and  built,  on  the  first  trial, 
the  lightest  engine  for  its  power  the  world  had  known. 
In  all  records  of  man's  superhuman  accomplish- 
ments there  is  none  any  greater. 

The  first  power-driven  airplane  in  which  man  flew 
weighed  about  45  pounds  per  horsepower.  It  had 
a  speed  of  little  more  than  30  miles  per  hour.  To-day 
there  are  airplanes  which  weigh  not  over  6j  pounds 
per  engine  horsepower,  and  which  have  a  speed  of 
160  miles  per  hour.  This  has  been  made  possible 
by  a  reduction  in  the  weight  of  airplane  engines  from 
the  12  to  14  pounds  per  horsepower  of  the  first 
Wright  engine  to  the  If  pounds  per  horsepower  of 
the  Hispano  Suiza,  and  the  2  pounds  per  horsepower 
of  the  Liberty  engine  of  the  present  day.  Design 


70 


THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S 


NOMENCLATURE  OF  THE  N.C.  PLANES 


1— Skid  Fins 

2 — Compression  Struts 

3— Wing  Ribs 

4— Gravity  Tank 

5 — Aileron  Control  Horns 

6 — Ailerons 

7 — Upper  Forward  Wing  Beam 

8 — Upper  Rear  Wing  Beam 

9 — Lower  Forward  Wing  Beam 
10 — Lower  Rear  Wing  Beam 
11— King  Posts 
IS— Wing  Tip  Pontoons 
13— Wing  Panel  Strut 
14— Outer  Nacelle 
15— Pusher  Propeller 
16 — Outriggers  for  Tail  Sup- 
port 


17 — Upper  Stabilizer  (horizon- 
tal) 

18 — Upper  Elevator 

19 — Lower  Stabilizer  (horizon- 
tal) 

20 — Lower  Elevator  * 

21— Balanced  Rudder 

22— Vertical  Stabilizer 

23— Tail  Boom 

24— Pilots*  Cockpit 

25 — Hatchway,  Engineer's 
Compartment 

26 — Aileron  Balancing  Section 
27 — Elevator   Balancing   Sec- 
tion 
28 — Access  Tunnel 


THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S         71 

and  construction  details  of  the  planes  themselves 
have,  of  course,  been  refined,  but  these  followed  as 
a  natural  consequence  of  the  reduction  in  engine 
weights  and  of  the  increase  in  engine  powers. 

Nothing  could  be  clearer  than  the  fact  that  a  cer- 
tain amount  of  power  can  drive  a  weight  of  6j  pounds 
through  the  air  much  more  rapidly  than  it  can  drive 
a  weight  of  45  pounds;  and  nothing  could  be  more 
certain  than  the  fact  that  future  development  must 
depend  upon  a  further  reduction  in  weight  per  horse- 
power, or  that  from  such  a  reduction  will  come 
greater  speeds. 

The  weight  per  horsepower  of  a  fully  loaded  N.C. 
boat,  with  a  transatlantic  flight  engine  installation, 
is  about  17|  pounds;  the  speed  with  this  full  load  is 
about  93  miles  per  hour. 

Success  in  airplane  design  and  construction  is  in 
such  a  superlative  degree  the  reward  of  an  untiring 
consideration  of  weight,  that  an  entire  chapter  de- 
voted to  the  explanation  of  the  weights  of  the  N.C. 
boats  would  not  be  wasted.  Bitter,  indeed,  will  be 
the  experience  of  the  designer  who  allows  any  other 
element  of  design  to  assume  in  his  mind  an  aspect  of 
more  importance.  The  soldier  bound  for  the  front 
may  do  as  all  soldiers  entering  their  first  campaign 
inevitably  do,  load  himself  up  with  non-essentials, 
with  items  chosen  without  due  regard  to  weight,  and 
no  great  harm  will  follow.  As  the  weights  on  the 
first  long  marches  become  irksome,  he  can  discard 
unnecessary  items  one  by  one,  to  be  left  at  the  last 
with  the  irreducible  kit  of  necessities  of  the  veteran. 
Designed  into  or  built  into  the  structure  of  an  air- 


72          THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S 

plane  the  unnecessary  or  excess  weight  is  there  for- 
ever, and  its  elimination  entails  a  new  design. 

With  all  of  these  things  regarding  weight  in  mind, 
we  figured  and  designed  the  parts  of  the  N.C.  boats. 
We  considered  aluminum,  and  high- tensile  steels, 
and  woods  of  various  kinds,  but  generally  we  found 
that  when  all  the  points  had  been  considered,  good, 
old  reliable  spruce  was  the  material  adopted  for  large 
members.  For  fittings,  of  course,  steels  were  used; 
for  tanks,  aluminum;  for  pipes  in  the  gasoline  system, 
copper,  but  the  main  structure  was  of  spruce.  It  was 
not  always  absolutely  the  lightest  thing  we  could 
have  used,  but  it  was  generally  the  most  satis- 
factory. Aluminum  would  have  been  a  little  lighter, 
but  aluminum  deteriorates  very  badly  in  the  presence 
of  salt  water,  and,  of  course,  we  could  not  take  any 
chances  on  such  a  thing  in  strength  members.  The 
framing  of  German  Zeppelins  is  built  of  aluminum, 
and  on  several  shot  down  in  England  and  France 
marked  deterioration  has  been  found.  The  Ger- 
mans have  been  using  aluminum  for  such  purposes 
for  many  years  and  have  not  yet  learned  how  to 
prevent  this  action,  so  we  decided  to  take  no  chances 
with  it.  For  a  few  things,  like  long  wing  struts,  high- 
tensile  steel  worked  out  lighter  for  equal  strength, 
but  it  would  have  been  so  thin  as  to  have  no  local 
strength.  When  you  see  an  N.C.  boat  flying  through 
the  air,  if  you  ever  do,  it  is  a  portion  of  the  spruce 
forests  of  Maine  or  of  Oregon  out  for  a  joy  ride. 

Then  resistance  has  to  be  considered.  In  our  ordi- 
nary daily  lives  we  do  not  give  much  attention  to 
the  resistance  the  air  opposes  to  passage  through  it. 


THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S         73 

Even  those  of  us  who  move  fastest  do  not  move  fast 
enough  to  have  it  make  any  appreciable  difference. 
In  the  motor  cars  in  which  we  ride  we  give  it  little 
heed,  and  only  the  very  high-speed  cars  used  for 
racing  purposes  take  it  into  consideration  and  adopt 
shapes  with  a  reduction  in  resistance  directly  in 
mind.  In  airplanes,  however,  resistance  is  the  thing 
most  fought  against.  It  is  even  more  important, 
when  high  speed  is  to  be  considered,  than  weight, 
as  the  effect  of  a  bit  of  unnecessary  resistance  is 
greater  than  that  of  a  bit  of  unnecessary  weight. 
This  comes  from  the  fact  that  resistance  to  passage 
through  the  air  increases  with  the  square  of  the  speed. 
The  resistance  at  50  miles  an  hour  is  only  one  fourth 
that  at  100  miles  an  hour. 

An  airplane  designer  tries  to  keep  down  resistance 
by  designing  the  members  of  the  airplane  exposed  to 
the  air  of  such  shapes  that  they  will  have  as  little  re- 
sistance as  possible.  One  may  easily,  if  interested,  try 
a  few  experiments  bearing  on  this  subject.  If  a 
block  of  wood  is  held  stationary  in  a  stream  of  water, 
the  effect  upon  the  moving  water  is  shown  very 
clearly  by  the  lines  which  it  assumes  around  the 
sides  of,  in  front  of,  and  behind  the  block.  It  will 
also  be  seen  that  the  effect  upon  the  flowing  water 
depends  upon  the  velocity  of  flow,  and  that  the 
strength  required  to  hold  the  block  stationary  in- 
creases rapidly  with  an  increase  in  velocity.  Now, 
by  varying  the  shape  of  the  block,  keeping  the  ve- 
locity of  flow  constant,  changes  may  be  produced  in 
the  effect  upon  the  stream.  Experiments  have 
shown  that  by  a  careful  choice  of  the  shape  of  the 


74        THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S 

block,  although  its  width  be  kept  the  same,  the  dis- 
turbance of  the  stream  may  be  reduced  to  the  point 
where  the  effect  is  hardly  visible,  and  where  the 
strength  required  to  hold  it  in  position  is  small. 

If  the  body  be  completely  submerged  in  the 
water,  the  flow  will  take  place  above  the  body  as  well 
as  at  the  sides  and  below.  Here  again,  by  the  care- 
ful choice  of  the  shape  of  the  submerged  body,  the 
disturbance  produced  in  the  flowing  water  may  be 
reduced  to  the  point  where  it  is  hardly  visible. 

A  body  suspended  in  a  flowing  stream  of  air  affects 
the  air  in  exactly  the  same  way  as  the  body  sub- 
merged in  water  affects  the  water.  To  reduce  the 
effect  to  a  minimum,  methods  similar  to  those  ex- 
plained above  must  be  followed,  and  when  minimum 
resistance  is  obtained,  the  body  is  said  to  be  of 
"streamline"  form.  The  more  nearly  the  form  be- 
comes a  perfect  streamline  form  the  smaller  the  re- 
sistance becomes.  Were  it  possible  to  develop  a 
perfect  streamline  form  this  resistance  would  be  zero, 
and  there  would  be  no  pressure  against  the  body. 

The  flow  of  the  air  around  this  suspended  body  will 
depend  upon  the  shape  of  the  body.  It  is  quite  prob- 
able that  it  has  often  been  noted  while  in  a  motor 
car  that  the  wind  blows  on  the  back  of  the  head  in- 
stead of  on  the  face.  This  is  because  the  air  in 
striking  the  wind  shield  is  deflected  upward  over  the 
head,  but  eddies  are  produced  at  a  point  just  back 
of  the  head,  giving  the  effect  mentioned  above. 
By  a  slight  change  in  the  height  of  the  wind  shield, 
or  in  the  position  of  the  wind  shield  with  respect  to 
the  seat,  this  effect  may  be  entirely  overcome. 


THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S 


75 


The  accompanying  sketches  stow  in  a  visual  form 
the  effect  on  the  air  stream  of  the  change  in  shape  of 
the  body  suspended  in  the  stream. 


Consideration  must  also  be  given  to  the  wing  sec- 
tions, for  it  is  on  the  wing  section  that  the  lifting  power 
of  the  wings  depends.  Wing  sections  are  of  many 
and  of  peculiar  shapes.  They  have  not  developed 


76 


THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S 


accidentally,  but  from  the  fact  that  people  who  have 
experimented  with  them  have,  little  by  little,  found 
the  shapes  that  give  the  best  results.  Some  wing 
sections  are  best  for  high  speed,  some  are  best  for 
low  speed;  some  for  a  heavily  loaded,  and  some  for  a 
lightly  loaded,  plane;  and  if  the  average  individual, 
who  is  not  interested  in  airplane  design  except  in  a 
general,  sketchy  way,  were  to  try  to  find  out  all  a 
designer  has  to  consider  before  he  decides  upon  the 
wing  section  for  his  airplane,  it  would  make  him  diz- 
zier than  a  flight  in  the  plane  itself. 


Here  again  it  is  necessary  to  mention  the  Wright 
brothers.     The  simplest  conversation  regarding  the 


THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S         77 

development  of  flight  nearly  always  involves  some 
mention  of  the  Wright  brothers,  for  they  seem  to 
have  overlooked  very  little.  It  was  they  who  first 
put  the  examination  of  airplane  wing  sections  on  a 
sound  basis.  In  order  to  fly  with  the  great  handicap 
they  experienced  from  their  high  engine  weights 
they  had  to  do  this,  for  it  was  necessary  for  them  to 
use  a  wing  section  from  which  they  could  get  the 
very  greatest  amount  of  lift  at  the  slow  speeds  at 
which  they  would  be  able  to  fly. 

To  find  these  things  out  they  developed  the  wind 
tunnel.  This  is  a  device  of  a  generally  circular  sec- 
tion through  which  air  is  drawn  by  means  of  a  fan. 
In  the  stream  of  air  created  small  models  of  the  wings 
considered  were  tested,  and  by  means  of  special 
scales  the  lifting  effects  were  determined.  As  this 
lift  increases,  just  as  resistance  does,  with  the  square 
of  the  speed,  it  is  easy  to  determine  from  such  tests 
on  small  models,  even  with  moderate  speeds  of  the 
air  stream  passing  through  the  tunnel,  just  what  may 
be  expected  of  the  full-sized  wings. 

To-day  there  are  wind  tunnels  large  enough  to 
take  models  of  a  span  of  more  than  seven  feet,  in 
which  an  air  speed  of  more  than  a  hundred  miles  per 
hour  can  be  developed,  but  the  Wright  brothers  could 
afford  nothing  of  such  magnitude.  Their  finances 
were  inadequate,  and  their  wind  tunnel  was  small, 
and,  perhaps,  inefficient,  but,  nevertheless,  their 
work  was  remarkably  exact,  and  the  methods  de- 
veloped by  them  are  those  now  in  use  the  world  over. 
Wherever  one  turns  in  his  examination  of  the  achieve- 
ments of  these  two  remarkable  men  he  is  confronted 


78         THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S 

by  development  work  of  astounding  merit,  and  must 
conclude  that  their  success  was  that  of  sheer,  hard- 
working genius,  unrelieved  by  any  contribution  of 
luck  whatsoever. 

The  wind  tunnel  developed  by  the  Wright  broth- 
ers, primarily  for  the  measurement  of  the  lifting 
effect  of  airplane  wings,  is  now  employed  for  numer- 
ous purposes.  In  it  are  treated  the  resistances  of  dif- 
ferent forms;  models  of  complete  airplanes  are  tested 
out  in  advance  of  building  the  large  planes,  and  com- 
plete data  may  be  secured  of  the  performance  to  be 
expected  of  the  large  plane  before  any  considerable 
amount  is  spent  on  it;  and,  most  important  of  all,  it 
may  be  definitely  determined  whether  the  large  plane 
will  be  a  safe  one  in  which  to  fly,  so  that  no  brave 
lives  need  be  sacrificed  unnecessarily  in  taking  into  the 
air  airplanes  which  have  no  business  being  there. 

Never  losing  sight  for  an  instant  of  the  things  we 
have  just  been  considering,  it  was  necessary  for  us  to 
proceed  with  the  design  work.  We  could  not  pro- 
duce a  boat  capable  of  flying  all  the  way  across,  and 
of  doing  the  necessary  things  to  German  submarines 
after  they  got  there,  so  it  was  our  task  to  do  the  best 
we  could,  and  at  it  we  went. 

The  wing  section  chosen  by  us  for  the  N.C.  boats 
was  one  developed  by  the  British  at  their  Royal 
Aircraft  Factory  in  England,  and  named  by  them 
the  R.A.F.6.  This  is  a  very  excellent  wing  section, 
particularly  suitable  for  load-carrying  airplanes  of 
moderate  speeds.  It  is  deep,  so  it  can  contain  the 
large  wing  beams  heavily  loaded  airplanes  require, 
and  is  of  as  simple  a  form  as  any. 


THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S 


79 


For  several  months  20  to  25  draftsmen  were  con- 
stantly employed  working  out  and  drawing  the  details, 
and  there  were  very  few  solutions  of  the  different 
problems  of  structural  details  we  did  not  try.  In 
connection  with  the  wing  ribs,  the  wing  posts  or 
struts,  the  tail  booms,  the  compression  struts,  the 
wing  beams,  dozens  of  designs  were  sketched,  cal- 


80         THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S 

culated,  and  in  many  cases  built  and  tested.  Ounces 
were  fought  for  in  the  attempt  to  save  weight  as 
fiercely  as  if  they  were  ounces  of  gold.  The  fever 
of  invention  seized  everyone,  and  men  would  ap- 
pear in  the  mornings  with  new  designs  they  had 
thought  up  as  they  lay  in  bed. 

Some  rather  grotesque  things  were  taken  seriously, 
and  several  times  designs  were  constructed  and 
tested  which  in  any  other  condition  than  the  one  of 
intense  devotion  to  the  saving  of  weight  and  resist- 
ance in  which  we  then  were  we  would  have  recog- 
nized at  once  as  impracticable. 

Numerous  wing  ribs  were  built  and  tested,  each 
one  a  little  stronger  and  a  little  lighter,  until,  finally, 
we  got  one  weighing  less  than  two  pounds  which 
supported  a  distributed  load  of  600  pounds  for  24 
hours  without  being  permanently  deformed.  On  a 
comparative  basis  a  man  of  160  pounds  could  hold 
up  48,000  pounds. 

In  our  designs  of  compression  struts  for  the  wings 
we  were  particularly  fluent.  Something  was  wrong 
with  the  day  on  which  two  or  three  were  not  thought 
of.  Finally  one  was  produced  seven  feet  long, 
weighing  3|  pounds  and  capable  of  supporting  ver- 
tically a  weight  of  7,000  pounds.  This  strut  was  a 
simple,  hollow,  tapering  strut  of  square  section.  Be- 
fore it,  however,  many  less  successful  ones  had  gone 
through  the  mill. 

Almost  every  day,  one  or  another  of  the  many  men 
working  on  the  design  of  this  boat  would  contribute 
to  the  designs  of  compression  struts  a  new  one  of 
boasted  qualities,  and  it  would  be  patiently  de- 


THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S          81 

tailed,  and  calculated,  and,  occasionally,  built  and 
tested.  From  the  first  I  had  advocated  the  com- 
pression strut  of  square  section,  and  had  taken  the 
attitude  that  it  would  be  impracticable  to  develop 
one  which  would  be  more  satisfactory  from  consider- 
ation of  strength,  lightness,  and  ease  of  manu- 
facture. This,  by  the  way,  was  a  conclusion  arrived 
at  by  Mr.  Handley-Page,  and  we  had  already  found 
how  sound  several  of  his  conclusions  had  been. 
In  common  with  the  other  persons  working  on  this 
design,  however,  I  suffered  from  the  fever  of  inven- 
tion, and  produced  one  day  a  strut  that  all  referred 
to  as  "the  fish  pole."  In  this  strut  were  intended  to 
be  combined  ease  of  manufacture,  strength,  and  the 
absolute  minimum  of  weight.  When  two  of  these 
were  brought  to  test,  however,  instead  of  supporting 
the  7,000  pounds  it  was  confidently  expected  they 
would  be  capable  of,  they  assumed,  when  the  weights 
placed  upon  them  were  still  less  than  1,000  pounds, 
remarkable  postures,  proving,  beyond  a  doubt,  that 
the  name  with  which  they  had  been  christened 
was  well  deserved.  Upon  this,  we  all  discovered, 
as  we  would  have  sooner  done  had  each  one  not  been 
blinded  by  the  extent  of  his  own  inventive  fervour, 
that  in  this  strut  no  torsional  strength  of  any  amount 
had  been  provided.  The  fact  was  that  any  load 
off-centre  by  the  slightest  degree  whatsoever  caused 
torsional  stresses  against  which  no  resisting  ability 
had  been  provided,  and  when  deflection  once  com- 
menced it  continued  in  a  most  remarkable  and 
amusing  fashion.  The  provision  of  torsional  strength 
would  have  involved  such  manufacturing  complexity 


82          THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S 

as  to  make  this  type  of  compression  strut  impracti- 
cable, and  it  was,  to  the  amusement  of  all  concerned, 
laid  on  the  shelf. 


Aefcs. 


"FISH  POLE" 


Then  appeared  Commander  Richardson  with  his 
"world  beater."  Like  "the  fish  pole,"  this  strut 
should  have  told  on  itself  immediately,  but  two  of 
them  were  built  and  tested.  Having  had  my  ex- 
perience, and  having  returned  to  my  advocacy  of 
the  strut  of  square  section  against  the  field  I  pointed 


THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S         83 

out,  not  without  some  decree  of  sarcasm,  that  any 
one  should  be  able  to  see  that  the  material  in  Com- 
mander Richardson's  strut  was  incorrectly  disposed, 
and  that  this  strut  would  inevitably  be  heavier  for 
corresponding  strength  than  the  simpler  strut  of 
square  section.  Pained  by  my  jibes  at  this  child  of 
his  inventive  faculties,  and  driven  by  them  into  a 
reckless  course  he  probably  would  not  have  other- 
wise adopted,  he  took  the  typical  American  method 
of  settling  an  argument  by  betting  on  his  judgment. 
Four  bets  were  made  and  duly  recorded.  The  stake 
in  each  case  was  an  ice  cream  soda.  First,  Com- 
mander Richardson  bet  me  that  his  strut  would  be 
lighter  per  pound  supported  than  the  one  advocated 
by  me.  Second,  I  bet  Commander  Richardson  that 
without  any  relation  to  the  weight  of  the  two 
struts,  the  one  advocated  by  myself  would  support 
more  weight  than  the  one  advocated  by  himself. 
Third,  in  order  that  Naval  Constructor  Hunsaker 
might  have  some  interest  in  the  proceedings,  I  also 
made  in  his  behalf,  and  with  the  same  stakes,  bets 
similar  to  those  made  by  myself.  As  any  one  with 
the  remotest  nodding  acquaintance  with  that  math- 
ematical conception  known  as  "The  Moment  of 
Inertia"  will  appreciate,  Commander  Richardson 
forfeited  four  24 -karat  ice  cream  sodas.  At  the 
same  time,  also,  it  was  decided  to  adopt  the  strut 
of  square  section,  and  to  proceed  no  farther  with 
experiments  being  made. 

It  must  be  recorded  that  we  found,  when  inventive- 
ness had  been  exhausted,  and  decisions  had  been 
made,  the  wing  beams,  the  ribs,  the  wing  struts,  and 


84          THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S 

the  compression  struts  to  be  practically  identical  with 
those  employed  by  Mr.  Handley-Page  in  his  bombers. 
We  could  have  accepted  those  at  first  and  saved  much 
work,  but  were  hopeful  of  improving  on  them,  and 
in  some  minor  degrees  did  improve  on  them.  As  a 
result,  we  duplicated  much  of  the  work  most  probably 
done  by  Mr.  Handley-Page  before  us  in  arriving  at 
his  excellent  conclusions. 

In  the  design  of  the  very  numerous  fittings  of 
metal,  each  one  special  to  itself  and  requiring  most 
careful  strength  calculations,  much  time,  work,  and 
ingenuity  were  involved.  In  this  Commander  Rich- 
ardson's experience  was  of  considerable  value. 

The  system  of  wires  is  not  so  straightforward  as  it 
looks.  For  all  of  these  wires  exposed  to  the  air  we 
arranged  streamline  covers  of  wood.  These  stream- 
line covers  have  a  much  less  violent  effect  on  the 
air  than  the  round  wires,  and,  though  the  several 
hundred  feet  required  weigh  many  pounds,  reduce 
the  resistance  of  these  wires  to  such  an  extent  as  to 
increase  the  high  speed  by  three  to  five  miles  per 
hour. 

The  areas  of  the  different  surfaces,  the  wings,  the 
stabilizers,  the  ailerons,  the  elevators,  the  vertical 
stabilizers,  the  non-skid  fins,  were  determined  by 
comparisons  with  other  successful  airplanes,  and  by 
proportioning  the  auxiliary  surfaces  to  the  area  of  the 
wings. 

The  N.C.  machine  is  of  the  flying  boat  type. 
The  boat  hull  on  which  the  wings  are  mounted, 
and  from  which  the  rest  of  the  structure  is  sup- 
ported, carries  the  gasoline  tanks,  the  crew,  and 


THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S         85 

many  of  the  weights  connected  with  the  ship.  It 
must  be  very  light  yet  enormously  strong.  Of  the 
total  weight  of  the  flying  boat  only  about  one  tenth 
could  be  claimed  by  the  boat  hull.  On  it  depends  the 
ability  of  the  plane  to  get  off  the  water  with  large 
loads,  its  ability  to  land  on  the  water  without 
injury,  and  to  rest  upon  the  water  with  the  crew  in 
security  and  safety.  Of  all  the  portions  of  the  struc- 
ture it  is  the  most  important  and  the  one  most  dif- 
ficult to  design.  Upon  Commander  Richardson  was 
thrown  the  burden  of  this  design.  If  any  one  should 
be  capable  of  doing  it  successfully  it  should  be  he, 
as  he  had  specialized  in  connection  with  seaplane 
floats  and  flying  boat  hull  designs,  and  was  probably 
better  posted  regarding  the  subject  than  any  one 
else  in  the  world. 

In  the  early  days  of  the  boat  hull  problems,  Com- 
mander Richardson  and  Mr.  Gilmore  of  the  Curtiss 
Company  worked  together  on  them.  They  produced 
a  design  based  partly  on  Commander  Richardson's 
experience  and  partly  on  that  of  Mr.  Gilmore,  as 
embodied  in  a  flying  boat  called  "the  flying  life 
boat"  recently  constructed  by  the  Curtiss  Company. 
In  this  boat,  too,  was  a  trifle  of  the  design  found  in 
the  latest  of  the  flying  boats  being  built  by  the  Cur- 
tiss Company,  largely  according  to  the  ideas  of  Com- 
mander Porte  of  the  Royal  Naval  Air  Service  of 
Great  Britain.  To  this  design  a  small  scale  model 
was  built. 

When  tested  in  the  Washington  Navy  Yard  tow- 
ing tank,  however,  this  model  gave  very  poor  results. 
Commander  Richardson  thereupon  changed  it  radi- 


86         THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S 

cally  in  several  respects,  retested  it,  and  presently 
came  back  to  Buffalo  with  the  lines  of  the  boat  hull 
afterward  built  for  the  N.C.  boats,  and  found  to  be 
wonderful. 

In  working  out  the  simple  and  sturdy  details  of 
construction  Commander  Richardson  and  Mr.  Gil- 
more  cooperated,  and  with  the  happiest  results. 
Months  afterward,  as  he  will  tell  you  in  his  account 
of  the  attempted  transatlantic  flight  of  the  N.C. 3, 
Commander  Richardson's  life  depended  for  many 
hours  on  the  integrity  of  the  boat  hull,  on  the  correct- 
ness of  the  assumption  of  strength  made  when  he  had 
worked  on  it,  on  its  ability  to  withstand  the  fierce 
onslaught  of  stormy  seas;  and  it  brought  him  and  his 
four  companions  back  to  port  in  safety. 

To  Commander  Richardson  was  given,  also,  the 
responsibility  of  designing  the  wing  tip  floats  which 
prevent  the  ends  of  the  wings  from  dragging  in  the 
water  and  the  seaplane  from  upsetting.  In  the  ex- 
periences of  the  N.C  S9  of  which  you  will  later  read, 
you  will  find  mention  of  these  floats.  You  may 
judge  for  yourself  of  their  success. 

Of  the  features  of  the  N.C.  boats  the  two  radical 
ones  are  the  boat  hull  and  the  tail.  Of  the  hull  we 
have  just  heard.  Of  the  tail  little  description  other 
than  sketches  of  the  different  arrangements  of  tail  and 
of  tail  supports,  shown  in  the  next  chapter,  seems  nec- 
essary. Many  combinations  were  investigated  and  it 
may,  of  course,  be  questioned  whether  we  got  the  best. 
We  did  do  this,  however,  we  got  one  which,  through 
wind  and  weather,  stayed  where  it  belonged,  content 
to  be  always  last  provided  it  got  there  eventually. 


A  WING  ENGINE  MOUNTING 

Showing  Liberty  engine  and  radiator,  as  used  on  the  N.C.  3  and  N.C.  4 


THE  INSIDE  OF  AN  N.C.  BOAT 

Looking  aft  toward  the  instrument  board  and  the  pilots'  control  arrangements 


©  International  Film  Service 

THE  BOW  OF  AN  N.C.  PLANE 

Lieut-Commander  Bellinger  is  adjusting  the   navigating    instruments. 
Below  may  be  seen  the  rockets  used  for  night  signalling 


THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S          87 

The  N.C.  boats  were  designed  for  a  power  plant 
of  three  Liberty  engines  driving  tractor  propellers, 
and  the  N.C.  1  was  constructed  in  accordance  with 
this  design.  Of  the  Liberty  engine  it  should  not  be 
necessary  to  include  any  description.  Few  things 
have  been  better  advertised,  and  its  origin  and 
development  are  familiar  and  threadbare  tales. 
Combined  with  this  engine  installation  as  a  part  of 
the  power  plant  was  the  entire  oil,  gasoline,  and 
engine  control  system. 

One  very  radical  departure,  at  least,  from  previous 
American  practice  was  introduced  in  working  out  the 
power  plant  installation.  Aluminum  was  employed 
more  extensively  than  on  any  plane  of  our  experience, 
and  probably  more  extensively  than  on  any  other  air- 
planes built  as  yet.  The  gasoline  tanks,  the  lubri- 
cating oil  tanks,  and  much  of  the  gasoline  distribution 
system  were  designed  of  this  material.  During 
construction  and  tests  some  of  the  piping  and  valves 
of  the  distribution  system  were  changed  to  copper  or 
to  brass,  and  the  gravity  tank  for  gasoline  feed  was 
changed  to  a  lead-covered  steel  plate,  known-  as 
tern  plate;  but  elsewhere  aluminum  has  been  re- 
tained, and  has  been  found  very  satisfactory.  The 
saving  of  weight  was  great,  amounting  to  several 
hundred  pounds,  and  it  is  most  doubtful  whether 
these  craft  would  have  been  successful  if  aluminum 
had  not  been  employed. 

Gasoline  is  fed  to  the  engines  through  a  gravity 
tank  set  in  the  upper  wing  directly  over  the  centre- 
line of  the  boat,  which  is  kept  constantly  full  by 
two  wind-driven  propeller  pumps.  Through  a  very 


88         THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S 

complete  system  of  piping  these  pumps  can  draw 
from  any  or  all  of  the  nine  200-gallon  gasoline  tanks. 
Any  one  of  these  tanks  can  be  shut  off  from  all  the 
others  so  that  gasoline  leakage,  in  the  event  of  injury  or 
failure  of  a  tank,  can  be  limited  to  the  tank  affected. 
Overflow  from  the  gravity  tank  passes  through  a  sight 
chamber  with  front  and  back  glass  sides,  mounted 
just  below  the  deck  of  the  boat  hull,  and  any  failure 
of  the  wind-driven  gasoline  pumps  to  deliver  gasoline 
can  be  instantly  detected  by  the  engineer.  In  the 
event  of  such  failure  a  hand  pump  connected  to  the 
gasoline  manifold  system  is  available  in  the  engineer's 
compartment. 

Throughout,  except  for  the  large  use  of  aluminum, 
the  power  plant  installation  is  straightforward  and  in 
accordance  with  the  usual  best  practice. 

As  has  already  been  pointed  out,  we  were  unfor- 
tunate in  having  to  employ  direct-drive  engines 
because  no  suitable  geared-down  engines  were  avail- 
able. 

Except  in  a  few  elements  of  the  structure  where 
special  conditions  held,  every  portion  of  these  planes 
was  designed  for  four  times  the  strength  required  for 
support  of  the  loads  of  normal  flight.  This  margin 
of  strength  is  designated  in  engineering  structures 
as  the  "Factor  of  Safety."  It  had  been  customary 
in  airplanes  to  make  it  at  least  six  and  often  seven  or 
more.  Our  decision  to  cut  it  down  so  radically  was 
based  on  the  certainty  that  in  planes  as  large  as  the 
N.C's  there  would  be  no  erratic  or  "stunt"  flying, 
and  none  of  the  unusual  strains  produced  by  such 
flying.  By  this  reduction  in  the  factor  of  safety  we 


THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S          89 

were  enabled,  of  course,  to  reduce  the  sizes  of  struc- 
tural members  and  to  save  much  weight. 

The  most  important  of  the  constructional  elements 
for  which  a  factor  greater  than  four  was  employed 
were  the  flying  wires.  These  were  given  a  factor  of 
six,  and  this  factor  was  distributed  to  three  wires. 
These  planes  were  for  war  purposes,  and  subject  to 
attack  by  hostile  fighting  planes,  and,  in  the  event 
of  the  cutting,  by  a  bullet,  of  any  one  of  the  numerous 
flying  wires,  would  be  in  a  dangerous  condition  if  the 
factor  were  only  four  divided  among  two  wires.  As 
soon  as  peace  came,  one  of  the  flying  wires  was  re- 
moved, so  in  the  N.C.  boats,  when  flying  at  designed 
load,  there  was,  almost  throughout,  a  factor  of  safety 
of  four. 


CHAPTER  VI 

SLOW    PROGRESS — DOUBTS    ABOUT    THE   HULL — MANY 

DESIGNERS   LEND    A   HAND — MR.   HANDLEY-PAGE   AND 

HIS    BOMBING    MACHINES 

IN  DECEMBER,  1917,  the  Curtiss  Engineering 
organization  moved  from  Buffalo  to  their  new 
j  plant  near  Garden  City,  Long  Island,  New 
York.  By  agreement  with  me  this  move  was  so 
made  as  to  involve  almost  no  delay  in  the  work  on 
the  N.C.  boats.  Work  stopped  one  afternoon  in 
Buffalo;  the  Curtiss  engineers  and  draftsmen  went 
aboard  special  Pullman  cars  that  night,  and  were  in 
Garden  City  the  following  morning.  Living  arrange- 
ments had  already  been  made  for  them,  and  most  of 
them  were  at  work  again  that  day. 

This  move  to  the  more  kindly  climate  of  Long 
Island  was  a  welcome  one  to  the  Curtiss  Engineering 
organization.  After  it,  the  work  on  the  N.C's 
progressed  unbrokenly  for  many  months.  For 
the  Curtiss  Company  this  work  was  under  Mr.  W.  L. 
Gilmore,  assisted  by  Mr.  J.  A.  Christen.  The  prog- 
ress, however,  was  less  rapid  than  I  had  hoped,  and 
its  slowness  contained  in  it  many  disappointments. 
I  have  no  doubt  that  more  was  expected  by  us  than 
could  be  accomplished  in  work  of  this  nature,  and  my 
urgings  for  increased  effort  and  for  increased  design 
output  seemed  to  me,  often,  as  not  entirely  unfruitful. 

90 


THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S         91 

I  have  had  sufficient  experience  with  work  of  this 
nature  to  know  that  it  is  almost  impossible  to  hurry 
it,  and  that  the  men  who  do  the  best  work  of  this 
kind  cannot  be  driven.  The  output  of  work  ap- 
peared not  overgreat,  and  there  have  been  times 
when  I  feared  the  design  would  never  be  completed. 

Shortly  after  the  move  to  Garden  City,  Naval 
Constructor  Richardson  returned  to  Pensacola.  All 
the  main  elements  of  the  design  had  been  formulated, 
and  the  general  nature  of  smaller  details  had  been 
decided  upon.  There  remained  for  completion 
the  innumerable  small  details  of  design,  requiring 
the  ceaseless  plug,  plug,  of  the  draftsmen  detailed  to 
cover  the  work,  and  the  careful  and  observant  over- 
sight of  the  engineers  in  charge  of  the  preparation,  of 
these  plans. 

Regarding  a  new  design  of  such  dimensions  and 
of  such  unusual  features  it  must  be  expected  that 
much  doubt  would  exist.  It  is  probable  that  little 
confidence  was  felt  in  the  work  being  done  by  per- 
sons cognizant  of  it  but  not  themselves  engaged  upon 
it.  It  was  no  uncommon  thing,  as  the  design  ap- 
proached completion  and  the  construction  of  certain 
elements  were  taken  in  hand,  to  hear  frankly  ex- 
pressed criticisms  of  the  whole  design  or  of  specific 
features  of  it.  This,  not  unnaturally,  had  a  dis- 
turbing effect  upon  those  connected  with  it  whose 
fortunes  were  to  some  extent,  and  whose  hopes  and 
expectations  were  completely,  tied  up  in  it.  After 
a  bit,  when  a  boat  hull  being  built  by  the  Curtiss 
Company  at  Garden  City  was  sufficiently  completed 
to  attract  attention,  it  was  made  the  subject  of 


92          THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S 

more  than  one  jest,  and  served  to  point  the  moral 
of  more  than  one  gloomy  forecast. 

As  the  first  one  of  these  flying  craft  approached 
completion,  these  forecasts  became,  if  anything, 
gloomier,  and  few  could  be  found  who  would  speak 
with  enthusiasm  of  the  probable  outcome.  Of  the 
boat  hull,  in  particular,  much  doubt  was  felt.  Its 
design,  compared  to  previous  flying  boat  hull  de- 
signs, was  radical  in  the  extreme.  Its  width,  com- 
pared to  the  amount  of  load  to  be  carried,  was  small, 
and  on  more  than  one  occasion  my  nights  had  been 
disturbed  by  the  recollection  of  the  confident  fore- 
casts of  men  of  experience  that  it  would  never  get 
off  the  water.  Though  I  never  have  discussed  this 
matter  with  Mr.  Curtiss,  and  so  cannot  quote  him, 
I  feel  that  he  was  among  the  number  who  doubted 
the  performance  anticipated  from  this  boat  hull. 
I  base  this  belief  on  the  fact  that,  without  securing 
my  approval,  he  had  arranged  to  have  incorporated 
in  the  boat  hull  built  at  his  plant  a  structural  fea- 
ture which  would  make  possible  the  addition  of  side 
fins  for  the  increase  of  the  bottom  or  the  planing 
surface.  These  fins,  as  can  be  seen  from  Curtiss 
flying  boat  photographs  in  Chapter  II,  had  been  an 
inherent  feature  of  Curtiss  flying  boats  almost  since 
the  first.  They  had,  in  fact,  come  to  be  considered 
as  indispensable,  and  the  design  of  a  boat  hull  with- 
out these  features,  or  without  the  proportion  of  plan- 
ing surface  previously  considered  necessary,  seemed 
almost  heretical. 

Commander  Porte  of  the  Royal  Navy,  the  great- 
est foreign  authority  on  the  subject  of  flying  boats 


THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S         93 

and  flying  boat  hulls,  had  an  opportunity  of  examin- 
ing the  boat  hull  for  the  N.C.  1.  He  discreetly 
refused  to  commit  himself,  merely  stating:  "It  is 
very  interesting."  However,  in  England,  I  later 
heard  from  various  sources  doubts  of  this  boat  hull, 
and  of  the  design  in  general,  which  could  hardly 
have  been  inspired  by  any  one  else  than  the  Com- 
mander himself,  and  it  is  fairly  safe  to  conclude  from 
these  remarks,  and  from  the  probable  source  of  their 
inspiration,  that  he,  too,  was,  not  unnaturally,  among 
the  doubters.  There  can  be  no  question  that  the 
design  had  the  appearance  of  being  a  radical  one. 
The  boat  hull,  in  particular,  had  so  widely  departed 
from  previous  practice  that  it  is  not  surprising  that 
incredulity  should  have  resulted.  The  boat  hull 
suggested  by  the  Curtiss  Company  had  possessed 
the  general  appearance,  looked  at  from  the  side,  of 
the  one  constructed,  but  the  ideas  of  this  company 
regarding  the  dimensions  of  this  boat  hull  and,  in 
particular,  the  area  and  distribution  of  the  planing 
surface,  were  fundamentally  different  from  the  ideas 
embodied  in  the  design  itself. 

In  July,  1918,  there  visited  this  country  a  British 
Aviation  Commission.  The  principal  technical  mem- 
ber of  this  commission  was  Colonel  Sempill,  a  most 
talented  officer,  formerly  of  the  Royal  Navy.  This 
commission  was  given  the  fullest  possible  opportun- 
ity for  examination  into  all  phases  of  our  aircraft 
efforts,  and  at  Garden  City  was  shown  the  N.C.  1, 
at  that  time  far  enough  advanced  in  construction  to 
afford  some  fair  idea  as  to  what  it  might  look  like 
finally.  Colonel  SempilPs  opinion  of  the  craft  was 


94         THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S 

briefly  summarized  in  his  report  regarding  American 
activities,  and  was  as  follows : 

"The  hull  of  this  machine  was  examined,  and  is 
the  design  of  a  naval  constructor.  The  machine 
is  impossible,  and  is  not  likely  to  be  of  any  use  what- 


ever." 


It  happens  that  in  airplane  design,  the  thing  which 
does  not  look  well  is  very  likely  to  be  unsound.  It 
does  not  follow,  however,  that  the  design  which 
looks  unusual  is  also  unsound.  In  judging  the  N.C's, 
numerous  people  have  been  led  astray  by  the  fact 
that  the  design  is  unusual,  have  forgotten  that  dif- 
ferent problems  must  be  solved  in  different  ways, 
and  have  condemned  the  design  without  going  to  the 
trouble  of  inquiring  into  its  different  features  and  the 
reasons  therefor. 

At  the  time  of  the  move  to  Garden  City,  with 
headquarters  in  Buffalo,  I  had  charge  for  the  Bureau 
of  Construction  and  Repair  of  all  aeronautical  work 
at  factories,  with  the  exception  of  that  at  the  Naval 
Aircraft  Factory  in  Philadelphia.  With  more  than  a 
dozen  branch  offices  scattered  about  the  country, 
from  Akron,  Ohio,  east  to  Marblehead,  Mass.,  requir- 
ing frequent  visits,  most  of  my  nights  were  spent  in 
Pullman  cars,  and  my  visits  to  Garden  City  were  not 
quite  so  frequent  as  I  would  have  desired.  Always 
one  day  of  the  week,  however,  was  spent  there;  oc- 
casionally it  was  possible  to  work  in  two  days  there. 
Everything  was  of  surpassing  importance,  for  every- 
thing we  were  doing  was  for  counter-submarine 
work,  but  the  N.C.  design  seemed  always  just  a  little 
more  important  than  anything  else,  and  as  requiring 


THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S          95 

a  bit  more  personal  attention  and  personal  shove,  and, 
accordingly,  it  was  to  Garden  City  I  went  oftener 
than  to  any  other  place. 

My  visits  could  not  have  been  very  welcome.  I 
was  always  disappointed  by  less  progress  than  I  had 
expected,  and  was,  perhaps,  a  complaining  visitor. 
The  pressure  under  which  this  work  was  done  never 
relaxed  until  the  three  boats  left  Rockaway  Beach 
for  the  transatlantic  flight.  The  fact  that  the  men 
of  the  Navy  and  of  the  Curtiss  Company  who  were 
connected  with  the  designing  and  building  of  these 
boats  came  through  the  experience  in  fair  shape  is 
testimony  to  the  endurance  of  the  human  animal. 

One  thing  we  discovered  was  that  everyone  under- 
estimated the  time  required  for  the  design  work, 
and  that  we  were  certain  to  be  several  months  longer 
in  completing  the  first  boat  than  we  had  anticipated. 

There  have  been  many  inquiries  as  to  the  specific 
control  of  the  design  of  these  great  flying  boats. 
Time  and  time  again  I  have  been  asked:  "Well,  now, 
who  did  design  the  N.C.  boats?",  and  I  have  replied, 
"That  is  impossible  to  answer.  They  were  designed 
by  many  people."  It  may,  then,  be  explained  in 
more  detail  what  is  meant  by  this. 

The  final  supervision  over  structural  design  details 
was,  of  course,  retained  by  the  Bureau  of  Construction 
and  Repair.  This  meant,  ordinarily,  Naval  Con- 
structor Hunsaker.  In  the  event,  however,  of  a  mat- 
ter of  importance  regarding  which  his  opinions  might 
have  been  divergent  from  those  of  Naval  Constructor 
Richardson  and  myself,  the  decision  would  have 
rested  with  Admiral  Taylor.  It  may  be  said,  how- 


96         THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S 

ever,  there  was  not  carried  to  the  Admiral  a  single 
difference  of  design  opinion  of  this  nature  for  his 
final  decision.  In  no  case  were  we  unable  to  reach 
a  harmonious  conclusion.  In  few  cases,  and  in  few 
instances,  in  fact,  was  it  even  necessary  to  refer  to 
the  Bureau  for  decisions  on  points  concerning  which 
any  considerable  differences  of  opinion  existed  among 
the  persons  working  immediately  in  connection  with 
the  design.  In  many  cases,  however,  where  various 
solutions  of  a  problem  could  be  adopted,  these  solu- 
tions were  thoroughly  considered  by  those  actively 
engaged  on  the  design,  and  then  Naval  Constructor 
Hunsaker  was  called  in  for  the  final  discussion  at  which 
the  decision  was  made  as  to  the  solution  to  be  chosen. 
Details  of  the  design  of  the  power  plant  installa- 
tion required  the  approval  of  the  Bureau  of  Steam 
Engineering.  Ordinarily,  this  meant  the  approval 
of  Commander  A.  K.  Atkins  who  was  the  head  of  the 
aeronautical  division  of  that  Bureau.  On  occasions, 
as  necessity  developed,  Commander  Atkins,  or  one 
of  his  immediate  assistants  at  the  Bureau,  would 
visit  the  scene  of  actual  work,  for  conference  with 
the  Curtiss  representatives,  or  with  those  of  Con- 
struction and  Repair,  and  for  decisions  of  power 
plant  matters.  In  Buffalo,  during  the  time  work 
was  carried  on  there,  Lieut.-Commander  H.  W. 
Scofield  supervised  the  work  for  Steam  Engineering 
and  in  Garden  City,  after  the  transfer  of  the  work 
there,  it  was  under  the  supervision  of  Captain  N.  B. 
Hall  of  the  Coast  Guard,  Aeronautical  Inspector 
in  the  New  York  district  for  the  Bureau  of  Steam 
Engineering. 


THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S         97 

At  the  plants  of  the  Curtiss  Company,  the  super- 
vision of  the  work  of  design  for  the  Bureau  of  Con- 
struction and  Repair  was  under  myself.  A  few  of  the 
features  were  contributed  by  myself.  In  general, 
however,  I  exercised,  in  connection  with  this  design, 
the  same  type  of  supervision  the  head  of  an  architec- 
tural firm  would  exercise  over  the  numerous  designs 
being  worked  up  by  the  personnel  of  his  firm,  with 
the  exception  that  final  decisions  could  always  be 
made  by  the  Bureau  of  Construction  and  Repairs. 
First  of  all,  there  were  arrived  at  the  larger  character- 
istics of  the  design.  These  characteristics  were 
thoroughly  discussed  by  the  Navy  Department's 
representatives  and  the  Curtiss  Company's  represen- 
tatives, and  were  then  divided  into  their  component 
elements.  These  component  elements  were  distrib- 
uted among  the  drafting  personnel  for  the  working 
out  of  the  details. 

As  to  individual  responsibility  or  credit  for  certain 
details,  it  is  exceedingly  hard  to  be  definite.  One 
never  can  know,  even  of  his  own  accomplishments, 
where  the  original  idea  came  from.  The  boat  hull, 
for  example,  the  most  important  of  the  large  ele- 
ments of  this  design,  as  well  as  the  most  unusual  in 
its  departure  from  previous  practice,  is  in  a  very 
large  measure  the  contribution  of  Naval  Constructor 
Richardson.  Its  successful  working  out  was  made 
possible  by  his  several  years  of  experience  in  seaplane 
pontoon  design  and  building,  and  by  his  knowledge 
of  resistance  secured  as  a  result  of  his  connection 
with  the  towing  tank  of  the  Washington  Navy 
Yard.  The  general  dimensions  and  the  structural 


98         THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S 

arrangements  were  largely  suggested  by  him,  and 
may  be  said  to  be  almost  entirely  the  fruits  of  his 
experience.  As  a  matter  of  interest,  however,  it  may 
be  mentioned  again  that  the  short  hull,  necessitating 
an  auxiliary  structure  for  the  support  of  the  seaplane's 
tail,  was  the  original  suggestion  of  the  Curtiss  Com- 
pany, and  was  taken  from  a  flying  boat  previously 
constructed  by  them.  This  flying  boat  was,  in  my 
opinion,  almost  entirely  the  product  of  ideas  of  Mr. 
W.  L.  Gilmore  of  that  company. 

To  a  boat  of  this  nature  Naval  Constructor  Rich- 
ardson was  at  first  opposed.  He  was,  as  a  matter 
of  fact,  in  favour  of  a  construction  somewhat  more 
conventional,  with  a  long  tail,  and  the  tail  members 
of  the  airplane  supported  thereon.  It  may  also  be 
noted  that  the  fundamental  idea  of  the  bottom  of  this 
boat  hull  was  furnished  by  the  shape  of  the  boat  hull 
of  the  H-16  for  the  design  of  which  Commander 
Porte  of  the  Royal  Navy  was  largely  responsible. 
In  the  H-16,  however,  were  contained  one  or  two 
features  which  prevented  the  full  success  of  that 
design,  and  these  features  were  eliminated  by  Naval 
Constructor  Richardson  in  the  model  tests  made  by 
him  and  Naval  Constructor  McEntee  in  the  towing 
tank  in  Washington. 

As  to  the  tail,  arguments  arose.  Naval  Con- 
structor Richardson  was,  and  still  is,  an  advocate 
of  monoplane  tails.  To  me  the  size  of  the  required 
tail  was  somewhat  staggering,  and  I  was  in  favour  of 
a  biplane  tail.  Involved  in  the  question  of  the  tail 
was  the  method  of  support  to  be  adopted,  and  in  con- 
nection with  this  there  was  also  much  argument, 


THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S         99 

discussion,  and  investigation.  After  such  discussions 
and  investigations  had  run  their  courses,  however, 
the  tail  decided  upon  was  the  biplane  tail.  The 
fundamental  decisions  arrived  at,  the  design  details 
were  immediately  taken  in  hand,  and  to  these  design 
details,  as  well  as  to  those  for  practically  every  other 
portion  of  the  plane,  great  and  valuable  contributions 
were  made  by  Naval  Constructor  Richardson.  We 
tried  to  have  no  pride  of  opinions.  Ideas  were  pooled 
— our  own,  as  well  as  those  uncovered  by  designs  of 
other  men — and  wherever  we  could  find  a  good  one  we 
took  it  and  used  it. 

Working  intimately  with  Naval  Constructor  Rich- 
ardson, and  at  all  times  in  direct  control  of  the  Curtiss 
design  personnel  engaged,  were  Mr.  W.  L.  Gilmore 
and  Mr.  J.  A.  Christen  of  the  Curtiss  Company. 
Their  ideas,  opinions,  and  experiences  are  so  inter- 
woven in  all  the  results  accomplished  that  there  can- 
not and  should  not  be  any  attempt  at  identifying 
those  pertaining  to  each  individually. 

Before  a  satisfactory  rib  could  be  worked  out, 
many  less  satisfactory,  as  has  already  been  stated, 
had  been  tried.  The  one  finally  chosen  was,  essen- 
tially, the  rib  used  in  the  Handley-Page  airplanes  of 
1917,  though,  in  its  construction,  certain  improve- 
ments had  been  made,  and  a  lighter,  stronger  design 
had  been  secured.  We  were  fortunate  in  having 
definite  information  regarding  the  Handley-Page  rib. 
This  information  was  no  less  definite  than  an  actual 
portion  of  one  of  these  ribs  brought  back  by  me,  in 
September,  1917,  after  a  visit  to  London.  In  London, 
I  had  the  pleasure  and  good  fortune  of  becoming  well 


100        THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S 

acquainted  with  Mr.  Handley-Page,  the  designer 
of  the  great  night  bombing  machines  which  bear  his 
name,  and  of  being  permitted  freedom  of  access  to 
his  manufacturing  plant.  On  one  of  my  visits  to 
this  plant,  he  gave  me  a  section  of  one  of  his  airplane 
ribs,  and  this  souvenir  I  brought  back  with  me  on 
my  return  to  the  United  States. 

Connected  with  this  bit  of  an  airplane  rib  is  an 
amusing  little  story.  Mr.  Handley-Page  is  a  genial, 
hearty,  and  an  entertaining  man.  During  the  time 
I  was  in  London  in  July,  prior  to  my  departure  for 
the  Continent,  I  saw  much  of  him.  With  several  other 
officers  of  the  Aeronautical  Commission  mentioned 
previously,  I  was  domiciled  at  one  of  the  London 
hotels,  and,  either  there  or  at  other  places,  we  enjoyed, 
not  infrequently,  the  very  pleasant  company  of  Mr. 
Handley-Page.  In  addition  to  the  facts  that  we 
were  representatives  of  the  newest  of  the  Allies,  and 
of  a  most  welcome  addition  to  the  fold,  and  that, 
with  the  exception  of  some  differences  in  accent  and 
in  pronunciation,  we  spoke  the  same  language  as 
himself,  the  fact  that  we  represented  the  future 
aeronautical  development  of  the  United  States  gave 
us  sufficient  importance  from  Mr.  Handley-Page's 
point  of  view  to  afford  us  the  good  fortune  of  becom- 
ing well  acquainted  with  him.  In  his  dealings  with 
the  British  Air  Service  he  had  suffered  many  dis- 
appointments. Even  as  late  as  July,  1917,  there 
was  in  Great  Britain  a  powerful  voice  against  the 
adoption  of  airplane  bombing,  and,  even  in  the  air 
service  itself,  a  powerful  element  doubted  the  merit 
of  airplane  bombing  operations.  Mr.  Handley- 


THE  TRIUMPH  OF  tHfi  N:0%        101 

Page,  having  devoted  some  years  of  his  life  to  the 
development  of  bombing  craft,  believed,  not  un- 
naturally, that  of  all  military  instruments  the  air- 
plane bomber  was  the  most  important,  and,  baffled 
for  the  time  being  in  his  efforts  to  have  large  numbers 
of  these  planes  built  for  the  British  Government, 
turned  to  us  in  the  hope  that  the  United  States  might 
be  induced  to  take  up  the  manufacture  of  this  bomb- 
ing plane.  We  shortly  discovered,  to  our  pleasure, 
that  he  was  somewhat  sensitive,  personally,  regarding 
the  very  large  amount  of  advertisement  being  se- 
cured by  Signor  Caproni,  the  great  Italian  designer, 
and  the  large  planes  designed  and  built  by  him  for 
purposes  somewhat  similar  to  those  for  which  the 
Handley-Page  planes  were  intended.  We  also  found 
that  he  was  quite  a  bit  gullible,  and  we  secured  much 
amusement  by  discussing  with  him  the  comparative 
merits  of  his  own  craft  and  those  manufactured  by 
Signor  Caproni.  We  always  took  care  to  convey 
somewhat  definitely  the  impression  that  we  con- 
sidered the  Caproni  as  the  only  real  bombing  plane 
in  existence.  We  never  failed,  I  believe,  in  our  in- 
tention of  starting  him  on  a  series  of  explanations, 
and  out  of  this  innocent  sport  secured  no  little  amuse- 
ment. After  we  returned  from  Italy,  and  from  a 
personal  investigation  of  the  Caproni  airplanes,  and 
of  the  plant  in  which  they  were  built,  and  a  delight- 
ful acquaintance  with  Signor  Caproni  himself,  we 
were  in  a  much  better  position  to  secure  more  harm- 
less amusement  at  the  expense  of  Mr.  Handley-Page, 
and  took  advantage  of  it.  He  knew  he  was  being 
imposed  upon,  but  the  subject  was  one  too  intimately 


?r^ffl&  f  RIFMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S 


a  portion  of  his  fibre,  and  too  near  his  heart,  to  make 
it  possible  for  him  to  avoid  the  harmless  pitfalls  we 
were  ever  setting  for  him. 

On  the  evening  on  which  I  quit  London  for  Liver- 
pool, and  a  steamer  home,  Mr.  Handley-Page  was 
thoughtful  enough  to  drop  into  my  hotel  to  say  good- 
bye. There  he  found  my  luggage  piled  up  in  the 
lobby,  and  resting  on  top  of  it  the  airplane  rib  he  had 
given  me.  The  sight  was  too  much  for  him.  When 
I  returned  to  the  hotel  he  was  on  the  point  of  leaving, 
as  he  had  concluded  my  return  might  be  too  long 
delayed.  He  walked  back  with  me  into  the  lobby, 
and  there  I  found  a  message,  pasted  around  one  of 
the  sections  of  the  airplane  rib,  which  he  admitted 
was  his  own  handiwork.  This  message  was  the 
simple  legend:  "The  thing  that  made  Caproni 
jealous."  It  was  this  rib,  adorned  with  this  mess- 
age, which  served  as  the  foundation  on  which  the 
ribs  of  the  N.C's,  shown  in  Chapter  VII,  were  de- 
signed and  built. 


Instrument  Board,  Centre  Nacelle,  N.C.  -3 


Wireless  Control  Station  in  the  After  Cockpit,  N.C.  1 


Liberty  Engine,  in  Place  on  a  Wing  Nacelle,  N.C.-l 


THE  BOW  OF  THE  N.C.  1 
All  the  propellers  are  in  motion,  and  she  is  ready  for  flight 


CHAPTER  VII 

THE  ACTUAL  BUILDING PLACING  OUT  PARTS  OF  THE 

WORK — MR.    GILMORE'S   SHARE   IN   THE  N.C'S — HIS 
NAVAL  ASSISTANTS — MOVING  THE  BIG  PANELS  OUT 

TO     GARDEN     CITY — THE     ASSEMBLING — ENGINE     IN- 
STALLATION PROBLEMS 

BY  THE  middle  of  January,  1918,  we  were  far 
enough  advanced  with  the  design  to  give 
consideration  to  building.  Our  weight  esti- 
mate indicated  that  we  would  be  within  5  per  cent,  of 
the  amount  allowed ;  our  estimates  of  performance  were 
encouraging.  Much  detail  design,  particularly  on  the 
tail,  which  had  been  delayed,  was  necessary,  but  most 
of  the  major  construction  work  could  be  taken  in  hand. 

I  estimated  the  boats,  exclusive  of  engines,  would 
cost  over  $50,000,  and  not  more  than  $75,000,  each. 
Actually,  they  cost  very  much  more  than  the  larger 
figure,  about  twice  as  much,  in  fact,  but  this  was  due 
to  the  great  number  of  changes  made  in  the  design 
after  the  completion  of  the  first  boat.  Duplicates 
of  the  last  boat,  the  N.C.  4,  could  now  be  built  in 
groups  of  four  for  about  one  hundred  thousand  each. 

Admiral  Taylor,  with  the  concurrence  of  the  other 
Navy  Department  bureaus  concerned,  recommended 
the  building  of  four  of  these  craft,  and  the  Secre- 
tary of  the  Navy  immediately  ordered  the  work 
taken  in  hand. 

103 


104        THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S 

Uncertainties  regarding  the  type  still  existed  in  a 
very  active  degree,  and  in  the  department  of  the 
Navy  charged  with  the  operation  of  aircraft  it  was 
feared  the  work  on  the  N.C.  boats  might  interfere 
with  work  considered  more  pressing  and  more  im- 
portant. To  prevent  such  interference,  it  was  defi- 
nitely ordered  that  it  must  be  avoided. 

As  there  was  no  experience  to  guide  us  in  estimating 
the  cost  of  flying  boats  of  this  nature,  it  was  decided 
to  place  the  contract  for  the  construction  work  with  the 
Curtiss  Engineering  Corporation,  without  considering 
any  other  airplane  builder,  and  to  base  the  contract 
on  the  actual  cost  to  that  company  of  the  work 
involved,  plus  a  profit  of  10  per  cent,  on  this  cost. 

In  connection  with  the  contract  for  the  N.C.  flying 
boats,  the  Navy  Department  reserved  to  itself  the 
right  of  placing  sub-contracts  for  any  portions  it  might 
elect  so  to  handle.  Actually,  the  only  structural 
parts  purchased  directly  by  the  Navy  Department 
and  supplied  to  the  Curtiss  Company,  for  incorpo- 
ration in  the  completed  structure,  were  three  boat 
hulls.  Two  of  these  boat  hulls  were  built  by  the 
celebrated  boat  building  firm  of  Lawley  &  Sons, 
Neponset,  Mass.,  and  one  was  built  by  the  Herr- 
eschoff  Manufacturing  Company,  the  famous  boat 
builders  of  Bristol,  R.  I.  The  fourth  boat  hull  was 
built  by  the  Curtiss  Company  itself,  as  an  item  under 
the  regular  contract. 

When  the  details  of  the  boat  hull  design  were  suf- 
ficiently advanced  to  make  construction  practicable, 
Mr,  Fred  Lawley,  of  Lawley  &  Sons,  visited  Garden 
City  to  examine  these  plans,  and  to  arrive  at  a  basis 


THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S        105 

on  which  his  firm  could  undertake  the  construction 
of  two  of  them.  This  basis  was  rapidly  arrived  at. 
Mr.  Lawley's  attitude  was  most  helpful,  and  there 
was  no  difficulty  in  reaching  an  agreement  satis- 
factory to  both  sides.  On  this  basis,  a  contract  was 
placed  with  them  for  two  boat  hulls  for  these  boats. 
The  Herreschoff  Company,  of  Bristol,  R.  L,  were 
offered  a  contract  for  one  of  these  boat  hulls  on  the 
same  terms,  and  accepted  it. 

There  were  definite  reasons  for  placing  these  con- 
tracts with  three  builders  rather  than  with  one  only. 
It  was  hoped  to  secure  some  competition  in  speed  of 
building,  as  well  as  in  cost.  It  was  considered  prob- 
able that  the  ideas  of  different  boat  builders,  regard- 
ing the  structural  details  of  these  boat  hulls,  would  be 
of  value.  Primarily,  however,  it  was  desired,  in  the 
event  of  additional  boats  of  this  nature  being  re- 
quired, to  have  at  least  three  builders,  sufficiently 
experienced  with  the  design  and  with  the  details  of 
construction,  as  sources  of  immediate  supply. 

Even  before  the  move  from  Buffalo  to  Garden 
City,  a  definite  procedure  for  building  the  N.C's 
had  been  decided  upon.  The  size  of  these  boats  is 
such  that  large  quantities  of  space  are  required  in  their 
construction.  The  facilities  of  the  Curtiss  Engi- 
neering Corporation  were  insufficient  for  this  pur- 
pose, and  other  contracts  already  secured  by  them 
were  such  as  to  require  a  considerable  part  of  such 
space  and  facilities  as  they  had.  It  had  been  de- 
cided that  expedition  in  building  could  be  obtained 
only  if  these  boats  were  built  on  the  "assembly" 
principle,  rather  than  at  one  plant. 


106        THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S 

Full  use  would  be  made  of  the  Curtiss  Company's 
facilities,  but  care  would  be  taken  not  to  overload 
them;  and  such  work  as  could  be  efficiently  and 
quickly  performed  elsewhere  would  be  placed  else- 
where. The  work  peculiar  to  airplane  construction, 
and  requiring  experience  gained  in  such  construc- 
tion, would  be  performed  by  the  Curtiss  Company. 
This  work  would  include  the  provision  of  the  flying 
and  landing  wires,  the  layout  and  building  of  the 
gasoline  system,  of  the  flying  controls,  engine  con- 
trols, and  the  nacelles,  the  covering  of  the  wings,  and, 
most  important  of  all,  the  complete  final  assembly 
and  adjustment  of  all  the  parts. 

A  survey  had  already  been  made  of  the  facilities 
existing  in  the  vicinity  of  New  York  City,  to  deter- 
mine where  the  portions  of  the  flying  boats  to  be 
built  outside  the  Curtiss  plant  could  be  most  effect- 
ively and  expeditiously  constructed.  This  was  at  a 
time,  of  course,  when  few  organizations  not  engaged 
in  the  production  of  war  materials  could  be  found  in 
the  country,  and  when  the  majority  of  these  manu- 
facturing concerns  were  being  pushed  to  the  utmost 
limit  of  their  capacities.  There  were,  however, 
some  manufacturing  plants  which,  before  the  war, 
were  engaged  on  work  found  at  the  outbreak  of  the 
war  to  be  unnecessary  for  the  purposes  of  war,  and 
which,  accordingly,  had  almost  ceased  to  operate. 
Many  of  these  manufacturing  plants  were  of  such  a 
nature  as  to  be  fitted  for  the  work  of  building  por- 
tions of  the  N.C.  flying  boats,  and  it  was  among 
manufacturing  plants  of  this  type  that  the  survey  re- 
ferred to  was  especially  made.  It  was  certain  that 


THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S        107 

plants  of  this  character  would  be  able  to  proceed 
with  little  delay  upon  the  work  placed  with  them. 
A  difficulty  of  some  importance  was  anticipated  on 
account  of  the  weakened  organization  of  most  of 
these  plants,  due  to  lack  of  work,  but  this  was  a  dis- 
advantage which  must  be  accepted.  In  addition, 
no  one  of  these  plants  could  claim  familiarity  with 
work  of  the  exact  nature  of  that  for  which  their 
facilities  were  being  examined.  This,  however,  was 
not  a  matter  of  any  great  seriousness,  as  the  work 
would  be  in  any  case  of  a  somewhat  similar  nature 
to  that  on  which  the  plant  had  previously  been 
engaged. 

As  a  result  of  the  survey  made,  it  was  possible, 
very  shortly  after  a  contract  had  been  placed  with 
the  Curtiss  Company  for  four  of  these  flying  boats, 
for  that  organization  to  place  sub-contracts  for  vari- 
ous parts  of  these  craft  within  reasonable  distances  of 
New  York  City,  or  actually  within  that  city  itself. 
These  sub-contracts,  which  were  in  addition  to  those 
placed  directly  by  the  Navy  Department  for  the 
three  boat  hulls,  were  for  metal  fittings,  for  gasoline 
and  oil  tanks,  for  wings,  ailerons,  non-skid  fins,  and 
all  tail  surfaces;  for  wing  struts  or  posts;  for  tail 
booms;  for  gasoline  system  valves  and  fittings,  and 
for  the  wing  tip  floats.  This  list  will  strikingly  show 
the  extent  to  which  the  Curtiss  Company  was  re- 
lieved, by  the  procedure  adopted,  of  many  onerous 
manufacturing  details. 

Among  the  buildings  comprised  in  the  plant  of  the 
Curtiss  Engineering  Corporation,  at  Garden  City, 
there  was  not  one  of  sufficient  size,  or  of  sufficient 


108        THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S 

truss  height,  for  the  work  of  assembly.  For  such 
work  a  special  building  was  constructed.  This  build- 
ing, naturally  and  justly,  was  paid  for  by  the  Navy 
Department  with  the  understanding  that,  at  some 
future  date,  it  would  revert  to  the  Curtiss  Company, 
on  the  basis  of  an  agreement  to  be  arrived  at  by  that 
company  and  the  Navy  Department. 

The  early  steps  preceding  the  start  of  assembly 
of  the  N.C.  1  were  filled  with  many  small  sorrows 
and  difficulties,  formidable  and  often  disheartening 
when  they  came  several  at  a  time.  Many  drafting 
details  were  incorrect  or  incomplete  and  the  sub- 
contractors were  often  clamouring  for  correct  infor- 
mation, or  were  delayed  by  having  to  make  over 
again  things  incorrectly  made;  many  intricate  and 
expensive  metal  fittings  were  destroyed  in  heat  treat- 
ments, and  valuable  time  was  lost  in  replacing  them; 
many  small  parts  needed  for  the  complete  parts  were 
forgotten,  and  were  not  ordered  until  the  necessity 
for  them  actually  existed,  and  delay  was  the  result; 
in  fact,  all  was  bad  luck  and  no  good  luck.  In  air- 
plane building  it  seems  that  optimism  is  never 
justified,  that  things  are  always  worse,  never  better, 
than  we  expect,  that  unexpected  happenings  always 
hinder  and  never  help.  Nevertheless,  in  the  latter 
part  of  May  the  necessary  parts  of  the  N.  C.  1  had 
been  delivered  to  Garden  City,  or  had  been  built 
there,  and  assembly  was  started. 

In  describing  delays,  there  is  danger  that  an  unnec- 
essarily critical  attitude  may  develop,  and  that 
criticisms,  spoken  or  implied,  may  become  personal. 
Such  a  result  would  be  entirely  unintentional.  It  is 


THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S        109 

desirable,  however,  to  record  freely  and  frankly  such 
incidents  relating  to  the  construction  of  these  boats 
as  may  be  of  interest,  and,  in  such  records,  facts  must 
be  stated  as  they  existed. 

The  Curtiss  Engineering  Corporation,  as  originally 
organized,  was  for  the  carrying  on  of  experimental 
work  only.  It  had  much  of  the  strength  and  much 
of  the  weakness  usually  existing  in  an  aggregation 
of  stars.  Mr.  Curtiss's  inclinations  run  naturally 
in  the  direction  of  development  work  rather  than 
in  that  of  production  work.  Due  to  the  demands 
of  war  conditions  which  this  organization  had  not 
fully  anticipated,  it  was  called  upon  to  become  more 
of  a  production  organization  than  a  developing  one, 
and  the  addition  of  four  N.C.  boats  to  these  produc- 
tion demands  increased  greatly  the  burden  being 
carried.  The  result  at  first  was  a  decided  lag  in 
effect.  The  transforming  of  an  engineering  organiza- 
tion into  a  production  organization  is  a  matter  of 
difficulty  and  one  requiring,  usually,  much  more  time 
than  is  available  while  a  war  is  in  progress. 

As  was  to  be  expected  from  the  conditions  outlined, 
results,  at  first,  were  far  from  happy,  and  progress  was 
much  retarded.  To  meet  the  situation  existing,  there 
was  created  within  the  Curtiss  organization  a  special 
organization,  known  as  the  N.C.  organization,  for 
duties  solely  in  connection  with  the  building  of  these 
boats.  Until  the  creation  of  this  special  organiza- 
tion, the  work  on  the  N.C.  boats  had  been  practically 
without  a  head  divested  of  other  interests.  To  Mr. 
W.  L.  Gilmore,  of  the  Curtiss  organization,  working 
under  the  supervision  of  the  general  manager  of  that 


110       THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S 

company,  had  been  assigned  the  oversight  of  the  con- 
struction of  these  boats.  Upon  the  shoulders  of  Mr. 
Gilmore,  however,  were  borne  such  an  amount  of 
the  weight  of  the  work  of  the  whole  organization 
that  the  time  he  was  able  to  devote  to  N.C.  affairs 
was  but  a  small  portion  of  any  one  of  his  days. 
Duties  of  much  complexity  in  connection  with  design 
were  assigned  him.  In  addition,  he  had  indefinite  but 
extensive  duties  in  connection  with  the  manufactur- 
ing activities  in  general.  If  any  time  was  left  him 
from  such  manifold  and  difficult  demands,  he  was 
able  to  devote  it  to  the  handling  of  the  numerous, 
difficult,  and  increasing  details  connected  with  these 
flying  boats. 

Mr.  Gilmore  is  by  preference  a  designer.  Work  of 
manufacturing  and  the  pursuit  of  the  details  involved 
do  not  hold  his  affection  in  any  degree  comparable 
with  that  he  feels  for  development  work.  His 
abilities  in  the  direction  of  manufacturing  or  produc- 
tion work  are  great,  however,  and  fate  decreed  that 
he  must  so  employ  them.  It  was  possible  for  the 
Curtiss  Company  to  relieve  him  from  the  major 
portions  of  his  other  duties  and  assign  him  to  the 
overlordship  of  the  N.C.  boats,  and  his  efforts  de- 
voted to  speeding  the  progress  of  these  craft  had 
excellent  results. 

As  the  work  of  the  sub-contractors  progressed,  and 
the  work  of  assembly  of  the  first  one  of  these  boats 
was  taken  in  hand,  the  details  increased  in  their  com- 
plexity, in  number,  and  in  difficulty.  The  personnel 
of  the  Curtiss  organization  became  unequal  to  the 
demands  made  upon  them.  It  was  impossible  to 


THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S        111 

expand  this  personnel  sufficiently.  All  over  the 
country,  and,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  all  over  the  world, 
there  was  a  dearth  of  men  with  manuf acturing  expe- 
rience. It  was  becoming  more  and  more  pronounced 
as  manufacturing  enterprises  increased,  and  a  greater 
and  greater  number  of  men  were  drafted  into  mili- 
tary service.  In  the  organization  immediately 
under  my  command,  however,  there  were  a  number  of 
young  officers  of  some  manufacturing  experience, 
and  of  the  highest  degree  of  intelligence.  I  detailed 
five  of  these  officers  for  duties  exclusively  in  con- 
nection with  the  N.C's,  and  placed  them  on  this 
work  to  all  intents  and  purposes  as  assistants  to  Mr. 
Gilmore  of  the  Curtiss  Company.  With  the  assist- 
ance of  Mr.  Gilmore,  an  organization  chart  was 
prepared,  a  copy  of  which  is  considered  as  sufficiently 
interesting  for  inclusion  here.  In  this  organization 
these  officers  reported  directly  to  Mr.  Gilmore  and 
received  from  him  instructions  as  to  the  carrying 
out  of  their  duties.  As  members  of  my  official 
family,  and,  therefore,  as  responsible  to  me  for  work 
considered  by  me  to  be  the  most  important  of  that 
coming  under  my  supervision,  it  was  natural  that  they 
should  have  exercised  a  very  close  liaison  between 
the  Curtiss  Company  and  my  office,  and  that  ele- 
ments were  occasionally  introduced  into  the  work  in 
progress  which  required  considerable  forbearance 
on  the  part  of  all  concerned.  In  such  good  faith  did 
this  arrangement  proceed,  however,  that,  notwith- 
standing its  many  very  evident  difficulties,  it  was 
practicable  to  carry  on  with  it  on  terms  of  the 
best  understanding,  and  with  excellent  results.  To 


THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S 

Mr.  Gilmore  much  credit  is  due  for  his  conduct 
throughout  a  situation  of  many  difficulties. 

The  plant  of  the  Locke  Body  Company,  where  all 
wing  and  tail  surfaces  were  built,  is  located  in  the 
heart  of  New  York  City.  The  upper  outer  wing 
panel  of  an  N.C.  boat  is  twelve  feet  wide  by  forty- 
five  and  three  quarters  feet  long.  It  may  be  appre- 
ciated that  the  hauling  of  a  fragile  construction  of 
this  nature  through  the  streets  of  New  York  City, 
and  over  the  roads  of  Long  Island  to  Garden  City, 
a  distance  of  about  twenty-three  miles,  would  re- 
quire the  greatest  amount  of  care,  and  would  be  of 
the  greatest  difficulty.  To  Lieutenant  W.  C.  Wether- 
ill,  of  my  office,  was  assigned  the  responsibility  for 
the  arrangements  for  transporting  these  wing  sec- 
tions, and  for  the  entire  supervision  of  this  work. 
He  was  so  convinced  of  the  difficulty  of  the  under- 
taking, and  of  the  necessity  of  successfully  carry- 
ing it  out  without  injury  to  the  wing  panels,  that 
he  assured  me,  when  on  the  point  of  starting  to  move 
the  first  one,  that,  if  anything  happened  to  it  on  the 
way  he,  "Would  jump  overboard,  and  not  go  to  the 
trouble  of  coming  to  the  surface  again." 

The  route  from  the  Locke  Body  Company's  plant 
to  the  plant  of  the  Curtiss  Engineering  Corporation, 
at  Garden  City,  is  over  much-travelled  streets  and 
highways,  and  it  was  decided  by  Lieutenant  Wether- 
ill  to  move  the  wing  panels  at  night,  during  hours 
when  little  traffic  would  be  encountered.  This  enter- 
prise was  carried  out  with  the  utmost  seriousness, 
and  if  any  of  the  inhabitants  of  Long  Island  along 
the  route  followed  went  to  the  trouble  of  remaining 


THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S        113 

long  enough  awake,  they  must  have  seen  an  exhibi- 
tion well  paying  them  for  their  unusual  exertion. 
The  dimensions  of  the  longer  wing  panels  are  such 
that  no  wagons  available  in  New  York  City,  other 
than  one  or  two  used  by  a  theatrical  scene  hauling 
company,  could  transport  them.  When  the  first  of 
these  wing  sections  started  on  one  of  these  long, 
broad  wagons  to  Garden  City,  in  the  dead  of  the 
night,  it  was  preceded  by  Ensign  Hutchins,  of  my 
office,  in  a  motor  car,  vigorously  waving  a  red  lantern 
whenever  an  attack  from  any  vehicle  threatened 
from  ahead,  and  was  followed  by  Lieutenant  Weth- 
erill  in  another  automobile,  also  vigorously  waving 
a  red  lantern  whenever  an  attack  from  the  rear 
threatened.  To  further  safeguard  this  precious 
freight,  the  wagon  containing  it  was  fringed  with 
four  red  lanterns;  and  it  is  safe  to  say  that  any  pedes- 
trians or  vehicles  encountering  this  strange  cavalcade 
gave  it  a  wide  berth. 

The  methods  of  transportation,  while,  perhaps, 
somewhat  bizarre,  were  effective,  and  of  the  numer- 
ous wing  panels,  tail  surfaces,  and  ailerons,  moved 
from  the  Locke  Body  Company  to  Garden  City, 
amounting  in  all  to  sixty-eight,  not  one  suffered  a 
mishap  or  an  injury  of  any  proportion. 

From  the  various  sub-contractors  the  elements 
ordered  were  collected  in  the  assembly  building  at 
Garden  City.  By  the  middle  of  August,  the  first 
one  of  these  boats  was  approaching  completion. 
Assembly  was  in  progress  on  the  second,  and  much 
of  the  work  for  the  completion  of  the  remaining  two 
had  been  accomplished.  The  work  of  the  sub- 


114        THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S 

contractors  had  been  done  with  the  greatest  degree 
of  accuracy,  and  it  was  gratifying,  though  somewhat 
surprising,  to  discover  that  the  assembly  in  the  first 
flying  boat,  of  the  divers  parts  built  by  so  many 
manufacturers,  could  proceed  with  practically  no 
hitches  whatever.  In  this  assembly  no  discrepancies 
of  any  real  seriousness  were  encountered,  and  the 
results  obtained  in  this  respect  were  far  more  favour- 
able than  had  been  expected.  In  the  work  of  the 
sub -contractors,  many  inaccuracies  in  the  plans 
prepared  by  the  Curtiss  Company  had,  of  course, 
been  discovered.  These  inaccuracies  were  mostly 
in  dimensions,  errors  in  which  had  been  overlooked 
by  the  checkers  when  making  their  corrections. 
The  sub-contractors  had  checked  these  dimensions 
with  such  accuracy,  however,  and  the  Curtiss  Com- 
pany, through  Mr.  J.  A.  Christen,  had  maintained 
such  a  close  relation  with  the  sub-contractors,  that 
errors  most  likely  to  occur  in  the  work  were  almost 
entirely  absent,  and  were  not  in  many  cases  such  as 
to  make  necessary  the  rejection  of  the  parts,  or  to 
prevent  their  inclusion  in  the  final  assembly.  Upon 
Mr.  Christen,  of  the  Curtiss  Company,  fell  the  re- 
sponsibility for  eliminating  errors  of  this  nature. 
In  this  work  he  was  indefatigable,  and  to  him  is  due 
in  a  large  measure  the  credit  for  the  preparation  of 
plans  so  complete  and  so  accurate  that  an  assembly 
job  of  a  greater  degree  of  complexity,  and  of  required 
accuracy,  perhaps,  than  any  assembly  job  previ- 
ously attempted,  proceeded  with  so  few  delays,  and 
with  so  few  mishaps. 
In  designing  the  engine  mountings  for  the  first  of 


THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S        115 

the  N.C.  boats,  we  had  permitted  ourselves  to  be 
nervous  regarding  the  power  of  these  engines.  The 
most  powerful  airplane  engine  any  of  us  had  pre- 
viously dealt  with  was  of  230  horsepower.  The 
Liberty  engine,  before  we  completed  the  design  of 
the  N.C.  boats,  was  rated  at  400.  This  caused  us 
to  adopt  a  mounting  of  such  rigidity  and  weight  that 
a  proper  balance  of  the  plane  could  be  secured  only  by 
mounting  the  three  engines  near  the  leading  edge  of  the 
wings,  for  the  driving  of  tractor  propellers.  This  was 
the  least  efficient  propeller  arrangement  which  could 
be  adopted,  but  seemed  inescapable.  Best  of  all  would 
have  been  three  pusher  propellers,  but  the  weights 
would  have  been  thrown  so  far  back  in  such  an  ar- 
rangement that  flight  would  have  been  impracticable. 

While  the  N.C.  1  was  building,  tests  were  made  of 
other  airplanes  carrying  Liberty  engines,  and  it  was 
found  that  the  balance  of  these  engines  was  so  good 
that  mountings  much  less  rigid  and  heavy  than  those 
we  had  adopted  would  be  sufficient.  Our  calculations 
showed  us  that  we  could  mount  the  central  engine 
far  enough  aft  to  use  it  for  driving  a  pusher  propeller, 
and  that  its  effect  on  the«balance  of  the  seaplane  could 
be  overcome  by  mounting  the  other  two  engines  on 
bearers  extending  well  forward  of  their  previous  po- 
sitions and  supported  by  hollow  steel  tubing.  This 
engine  installation  was  decided  upon  for  the  N.C.  2, 
the  N.C.  3,  and  the  N.C.  4. 

By  the  latter  part  of  August,  when  it  became  neces- 
sary for  me  to  go  abroad,  the  N.C.  1  was  approach- 
ing completion  and  the  others  of  her  tribe  were 
"coming  along." 


CHAPTER  Vin 


COMMANDER  RICHARDSONS  ALARMING 
"N.C.  1  "  READY  FOR  FLIGHT  —  ARRANGEMENTS  AT  ROCK- 
AWAY  —  HANDLING  METHODS  AND  DIFFICULTIES  —  THE 
FIRST  TRY-OUT  TESTS  AND  ADJUSTMENTS  —  THE  FLIGHT 
TO  WASHINGTON  —  FIFTY-ONE  PASSENGERS  —  THE  FIRST 
AIR  STOWAWAY 

JUST  prior  to  my  sailing  for  Europe  on  the 
25th  of  August  a  bomb  of  proportions  had 
exploded  under  me,  and  some  of  the  con- 
fidence I  had  felt  in  the  outcome  of  the  design 
and  building  of  the  N.C's  was,  temporarily,  very 
seriously  shattered.  I  know  of  no  one,  outside  of 
the  immediate  personnel  engaged  on  this  work,  who 
expressed  unqualified  confidence  in  the  accomplish- 
ment of  even  the  estimates  we  were  counting  on. 
I,  however,  regarded,  and  still  regard,  Commander 
Richardson  as  the  leading  authority  of  the  world  on 
airplane  pontoons  and  flying  boat  hulls,  and  the 
fact  that  the  design  of  the  N.C.  hull  had  been  under 
his  supervision,  and  that  he  vouched  for  it,  was  suf- 
ficient for  me.  Then  one  day  he  appeared  unex- 
pectedly in  my  office  in  New  York  City,  and  waved 
some  papers  at  me.  I  had  thought  it  a  beautiful 
day,  unusually  cool  and  crisp  for  August,  and  life 
was  less  strenuous  than  it  had  been  at  any  time  for 
many  months.  The  N.C.  1  was  approaching  com- 

116 


THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S        117 

pletion;  all  factories  turning  out  seaplanes  were 
humming;  and  we  had  shipped  so  many  abroad  for 
our  naval  patrol  stations  that  we  could  view  the  future 
with  some  confidence.  The  submarine  menace  was 
a  bit  less  fearful;  ships  were  being  launched  almost 
as  fast  as  they  were  being  sunk;  and  the  Huns  were 
retreating.  Added  to  all  of  this  was  the  excitement 
due  to  the  fact  that  in  a  day  or  two  I  was  sailing  for 
the  theatre  of  war  on  some  special  aeronautical  duty 
for  my  Bureau. 

Richardson  changed  it  all  between  heart  beats! 
He  had  been  drawing  some  more  curves  of  the  resist- 
ances shown  in  the  towing  tank  by  the  boat  hull 
model.  On  these  curves  he  had  found,  at  the  speed 
necessary  for  leaving  the  water  in  flight,  a  sudden 
increase  in  resistance  which  he  designated  a  "hump." 
"With  luck,"  said  he,  "we  may  get  into  the  air 
with  22,000  pounds." 

"  Crash,"  went  many  of  the  remaining  props  under 
my  confidence.  As  doubters  increased  I  had  bet  on 
Richardson  against  them  all,  and  suddenly,  unex- 
pectedly, he  had  left  me  supported  by  nothing  but 
hope,  and  by  very  little  of  that. 

It  was  in  this  state  of  uncertainty  that  I  left  this 
country  and  went  to  Europe,  and  in  it  I  continued 
for  several  weeks  until  the  cable  brought  news  to 
London  of  the  flights  of  the  N.C.  1,  which  proved 
that  Richardson  had  spoken  too  soon. 

Something  happened  to  the  "hump"  and  it  wasn't 
where  it  was  expected  to  be.  When  the  N.C.  1  flew, 
it  disregarded  it,  and  was  soon  taking  more  weight 
into  the  air  than  we  had  dared  to  hope  for. 


118        THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S 

< 

The   first   portions  of  the  N.C.  1  were  moved  to 

Rockaway  Beach,  Long  Island,  N.  Y.,  to  the  U.  S. 
Naval  Air  Station,  on  September  llth.  By  the 
23rd  of  the  month  the  entire  plane  had  been  delivered 
there,  and  by  the  end  of  the  month  it  had  been  as- 
sembled, and,  except  for  a  few  finishing  touches,  was 
ready  for  flight. 

The  Rockaway  Beach  Naval  Air  Station,  which  was 
chosen  as  the  location  of  the  N.C.  hangar,  is  built  on 
a  narrow  neck  of  land  extending  between  Jamaica 
Bay  and  the  Atlantic  Ocean.  This  property  be- 
longs to  the  city  of  New  York  and  was  loaned  by 
that  city  to  the  National  Government  for  wartime 
purposes.  For  the  erection  and  flights  of  the  N.C. 
flying  boats,  it  is  remarkably  well  located.  It  is 
about  twenty -one  miles  from  the  Curtiss  Engineering 
Corporation's  plant  at  Garden  City,  and  between 
the  station  and  that  plant  there  are  no  obstructions 
to  the  transportation  of  airplane  members  of  the  size 
of  those  used  in  these  seaplanes. 

On  one  side  of  this  point  is  the  ocean  in  which 
rough- water  tests  can  be  made;  on  the  other  side  are 
the  waters  of  Jamaica  Bay,  well  protected  from  all 
directions,  so  that  at  practically  all  stages  of  weather 
there  may  be  found  in  this  bay  smooth-water  land- 
ings and  smooth- water  getaways. 

For  some  reason  or  other,  not  definitely  known  to 
myself,  but  probably  tied  up  to  a  considerable  ex- 
tent in  the  lack  of  confidence  felt  by  the  responsible 
authorities  in  Washington  in  this  design,  a  hangar 
was  authorized  of  sufficient  size  for  two  of  these  boats 
only,  and  sometime  in  May  the  construction  of  this 


A  BIRDSEYE  VIEW  OF  THE  ARRANGEMENTS  AT  ROCKAWAY 
The  N.C.  hangar  at  the  left,  in  front  of  it  the  concrete  handling  platform. 
N.C.  1  is  on  the  marine  railway  ready  for  launching.     The  HS-2  hangar  is 
at  the  right,  and  an  HS-2  flying-boat  stands  ready  to  be  launched 


N.C.  1  IN  FRONT  OF  THE  HANGAR 
Four  N.C.'s  were  built,  but  there  was  room  in  their  hangar  for  only  two 


FIFTY-ONE  PASSENGERS 

The  N.C.  1  has  just  returned  from  a  record-breaking  trial  spin  with  fifty- 
one  passengers.  She  intended  to  carry  only  fifty,  but  unwittingly  carried 
also  the  kneeling  gob  at  the  right — the  first  aerial  stowaway. 


©  International  Film  Service 

COMMISSIONING  N.C.  DIVISION  ONE 

Captain  Powers  Symington  turns  over  the  completed  plans  to  Com- 
mander John  T.  Towers,  commanding  officer  of  the  Division.  His  "flag- 
plane"  was  t'ne  N.C.  3 


THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S        119 

hangar  was  commenced.  The  dimensions  of  this 
hangar  are  approximately  165  feet  by  110  feet. 
The  110  feet  is  in  the  clear  and  the  height  to  the  truss 
is  approximately  30  feet.  This  building  is  of  suf- 
ficient size  to  accommodate  two  completely  assembled 
N.C.  flying  boats.  In  front  of  this  hangar  is  a  pave- 
ment of  concrete  approximately  160  feet  square, 
of  sufficient  extent  to  make  possible  the  handling  of 
the  boats  in  and  out  of  the  hangar  and  in  and  out 
of  the  water. 

Under  ordinary  conditions,  without  a  crew  on 
board,  one  of  these  boats  will  weigh  in  the  neighbour- 
hood of  ten  tons.  Its  dimensions  are  such  as  to  make 
impossible  its  simple  pickup  by  crane  or  by  some 
other  means  and  moving  from  one  place  to  an- 
other. To  meet  these  conditions,  a  special  handling 
truck,  mounted  on  four  wheels,  has  been  designed. 
This  truck  is  of  sufficient  surface  to  prevent  un- 
due concentration  of  weight  on  the  necessarily  frag- 
ile boat  hull,  and  to  further  safeguard  this  boat 
hull  the  bearing  surface  of  the  truck  is  padded  with 
felt. 

Due  to  the  great  over  all  dimensions  of  this  craft, 
126  feet  by  67  feet,  it  is  necessary  to  be  able  to  ma- 
noeuvre it  with  very  little  forward  or  rear  motion. 
Accordingly,  the  wheels  of  the  truck  have  been  so 
installed  as  to  permit  their  setting  at  various  angles, 
so  that  a  turn-table  effect  can  be  obtained  and  the 
flying  boat  may  be  rotated  in  either  direction  without 
any  movement  of  translation  whatsoever.  This 
rotation  has  proven  easy  of  accomplishment,  and 
a  few  men  shoving  against  the  wing  tip  floats  can 


120        THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S 

quite  easily  rotate  the  machine  at  as  high  a  degree 
of  speed  as  is  desired. 

Movements  into  and  out  of  the  hangar  are  accom- 
plished by  gasoline-driven  caterpillar  tractor  trucks, 
one  of  them  of  60  horsepower.  The  larger  of  these 
trucks  also  pulls  the  boats  up  the  inclined  marine 
railway  in  getting  them  from  the  water  to  the  land. 

This  docking  arrangement  is  in  all  essentials  simi- 
lar to  that  made  for  small  yachts.  A  regular  marine 
railway  of  two  steel  rails  has  been  built  at  a  proper 
inclination  from  the  sea  wall,  of  sufficient  length 
to  carry  the  boats  into  water  deep  enough  to  float 
them  from  their  handling  trucks.  On  this  railway 
is  a  special  handling  car  so  built  that  its  platform  is 
horizontal  notwithstanding  the  fact  that  its  wheels 
run  on  rails  inclined  to  the  horizontal  at  an  angle 
of  about  15°.  There  is  a  departure  from  ordinary 
marine  railway  practice  in  the  provision  at  each  side 
of  our  railway  of  a  handling  platform  which  runs 
parallel  to  it  and  is  of  equal  length.  These  are 
required  due  to  the  great  area  of  one  of  these 
planes  exposed  to  the  wind,  and  to  the  necessity  for 
having  men  hold  the  craft  steady  while  it  is  being 
landed  in  its  handling  truck. 

When  the  railway  car  is  at  the  upper  end  of  its 
travel  its  platform  is  flush  with  the  concrete  area  in 
front  of  the  hangar,  and  the  handling  truck  carrying 
the  seaplane  may  run  from  this  car  to  the  concrete 
area.  It  may  be  appreciated  how  simple  it  is  to  get 
one  of  these  boats  in  or  out  of  the  water  during  good 
weather.  In  bringing  it  in  the  railway  car  carrying 
the  handling  truck  is  run  out  into  water  of  sufficient 


THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S 

depth;  the  boat  is  floated  into  place  and  is  held  there; 
a  small  movement  of  the  car  up  the  railway  lands  the 
boat  hull  in  its  cradle,  and  the  remainder  of  the 
operation  is  an  obvious  one.  Launching  is  even 
simpler.  The  truck  with  its  freight  is  run  on  to  the 
railway  car  with  the  nose  of  the  boat  pointing  sea- 
ward; then  engines  are  started  and  run  slowly;  the 
car  is  lowered  slowly  down  the  railway  incline  until 
in  water  of  enough  depth  for  the  flotation  of  the 
boats,  when  an  increase  in  the  engine  revolutions  will 
carry  the  plane  free  and  ready  for  flight. 

Due  to  a  circumstance  of  some  seriousness,  how- 
ever, this  simple  operation  is  not  always  practicable. 
In  laying  out  this  marine  railway,  the  grade  was  placed 
a  few  inches  below  the  beach  line.  In  addition  to 
this,  certain  side  structures  running  well  out  into  the 
water,  and  used  as  platforms  for  handling  and  guid- 
ing the  boats  into  their  handling  trucks  when  they 
are  being  taken  out  of  the  water,  have  been  so  con- 
structed as  to  cause  the  beach  to  build  up.  The 
result  is  that  large  quantities  of  sand  are  deposited 
on  the  marine  railway,  and  it  is  not  infrequent  that 
these  deposits  are  so  great  as  to  interfere  seriously 
with,  or  even  prevent,  the  launching  of  these  boats. 

When  the  marine  railway  is  lightly  covered  with 
sand,  it  is  frequently  possible,  by  starting  the  en- 
gines and  permitting  the  boat  on  its  truck  to  run 
down  the  marine  railway,  to  cut  through  this  sand 
and  reach  the  uncovered  railway  beyond.  When 
this  is  not  possible,  sand  must  be  shovelled  out  la- 
boriously, and  a  passageway  prepared  through  which 
the  marine  railway  truck  can  make  its  way.  Under 


122        THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S 

the  suggestion  of  Naval  Constructor  Richardson, 
there  were  placed  in  front  of  the  forward  wheels  of 
the  marine  railway  truck  steel  ploughs,  and  these 
ploughs,  contrary  to  the  expectations  of  a  number 
of  scoffers,  myself  among  the  number,  proved  most 
effective,  and  made  it  possible  to  launch  these  craft 
under  conditions  which  would  previously  have  en- 
tailed several  hours'  work  at  sand  dredging  on  the 
part  of  the  entire  handling  crew. 

On  the  first  of  October,  the  motors  of  the  N.C.  1 
were  started  for  the  first  time.  The  two  outside 
motors  were  equipped  with  electric  self-starters, 
whereas  the  centre  motor  was  started  by  hand  starter 
only.  Since  that  time  all  motors  have  been  equip- 
ped with  electric  starters  on  all  of  the  boats  of  the 
N.C.  type,  and  hand  starters  are  no  longer  used. 

In  determining  the  relative  locations  of  the  centre 
of  gravity  of  the  N.C.  1  and  the  centre  of  lift  of  all 
its  lifting  surfaces  we  discovered  the  centre  of  gravity 
was  so  much  farther  back  than  we  had  anticipated 
that  the  craft  in  flight  would  be  tail  heavy.  Our 
figures  showed  that  this  condition  could  be  corrected 
by  a  weight  of  1,750  pounds  in  the  bow.  The  adop- 
tion of  such  a  method  for  correcting  balance  could, 
of  course,  be  a  temporary  expedient  only,  as  the  carry- 
ing of  useless  dead  weight  could  not  be  tolerated. 
It  was  desirable  to  try  the  general  qualities  of  the 
plane  as  soon  as  possible,  and  1,200  pounds  of  sand 
in  small  bags  was  placed  in  the  nose  of  the  boat. 
The  total  weight  was  then  16,200  pounds. 

All  was  ready  on  the  4th  of  October  for  the  momen- 
tous determination.  Would  she  fly,  or  wouldn't  she? 


THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S        123 

Would  she  fly  well  enough  to  give  us  encouragement, 
or  would  there  be  some  terrible  fault  of  proportion, 
of  balance,  of  control,  which  would  prove  her  the 
impossible  craft  many  believed  her? 

A 


AA      **»  Asorr  WMCH  V&ATMACOCK  Srooturr  w 

BB         A>»3  ABOUT   WHICH    LATERAL    3WBILITV     13    DETEW1IN  E». 

CC         >Wt»  AZ«xrr    WHXH  lONtuTvOiMAt.     3tAAiulT»    l»     £>  E  T  *  «  «"•  STJ. 

At  Rockaway  Beach  the  entire  personnel  of  the  air 
station  gathered  as  spectators;  as  many  of  the  mem- 
bers of  the  personnel  of  the  Curtiss  Company  as 
could  find  excuses  for  being  present  were  there;  the 
officers  from  my  New  York  office,  and  from  that  of 
Captain  Hall,  the  representative  of  the  Bureau  of 
Steam  Engineering,  found  duty  had  called  them  to 
Rockaway  Beach.  As  for  myself,  I  was  in  Queens- 
town,  Ireland,  aware,  of  course,  of  the  imminence  of 
the  event,  and  wondering  just  when  it  would  be  and 
what  would  happen. 

Commander  Richardson  was  in  charge  of  the  test. 


THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S 

He  had  come  down  from  his  office  in  Buffalo  several 
days  before  to  see  to  the  finishing  touches.  He  and 
Lieutenant  Dave  McCulloch  of  the  Reserve  Force, 
afterward  with  him  one  of  the  pilots  of  the  N.C.  3 
on  her  trip  to  the  Azores,  were  the  pilots.  The 
others  of  the  crew  were  Machinist  Philo  H.  Danly  of 
the  Reserve  Force,  and  George  Robinson  and  Van 
Sicklen  of  the  Curtiss  Company. 

They  took  their  places.  The  engines  were  started, 
and  warmed  up  with  the  steady,  healthy  roar  of  thirty- 
six  cylinders  "  hitting"  perfectly.  Richardson  waved 
a  hand,  and  a  line  from  the  marine  railway  carriage 
to  the  beach  was  slacked  away.  Down  the  inclined 
railway,  off  from  their  cradle,  they  went.  Back  and 
forth  for  a  while  they  ran  to  give  the  pilots  a  chance 
to  feel  out  the  controls.  Then  they  turned  and 
headed  into  the  gentle  wind  from  the  west  which 
was  hardly  flecking  the  surface. 

The  roar  of  the  engines  increased;  the  spray  flew 
from  the  bow  of  the  boat  hull;  the  speed  increased; 
and  all  on  the  beach  knew  that  the  N.C.  1  was  at 
last  determined  to  try  her  own  element. 

Would  she  make  it,  or  would  some  59th  minute 
mishap  spoil  the  show? 

Almost  before  the  question  could  be  asked,  the 
wake  on  the  water  narrowed  to  a  ribbon,  and  then 
ended.  She  was  in  the  air,  she  was  flying!  A  cheer 
vented  the  tenseness  of  those  on  shore — many 
cheers  blending  in  one.  The  largest  flying  boat  in 
the  world  was  in  the  air. 

After  an  instant  she  began  to  settle.  The  spec- 
tators held  their  breaths.  Down,  down  she  dropped, 


THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S        125 

nearer  the  water,  then  on  to  the  surface  in  a  perfect 
landing.  Something  was  wrong  evidently,  but  no 
mishap  had  resulted.  Back  to  the  beach  she  came, 
and  all  gathered  to  meet  her. 

Nothing  whatsoever  was  wrong.  They  had  re- 
turned simply  to  take  on  board  Captain  Parker  of  the 
Coast  Guard,  the  Commanding  Officer  of  the  Rock- 
away  Beach  Naval  Air  Station,  whose  assistance  in 
connection  with  the  work  carried  on  at  his  station 
had  been  so  helpful  that  he  was  considered  as  entitled 
to  an  early  ride.  Two  more  short  "hops,"  each  of  a 
duration  less  than  a  minute,  were  made,  and  to  the 
great  satisfaction  of  everyone  it  was  evident  that  the 
N.C.I  would  be  successful.  How  successful  could  not 
be  told  until  the  ability  as  a  weight  lifter  had  been  de- 
termined, but  it  was  certain  that  as  a  flying  craft  it 
would  be  satisfactory. 

These  flights  showed,  however,  that  the  plane  was 
still  tail  heavy.  To  correct  this,  an  additional  weight 
of  555  pounds  was  added,  bringing  the  total  weight 
up  to  the  amount  previously  estimated  as  necessary 
for  balance.  An  additional  passenger  was  taken  on 
board,  which  brought  the  total  weight  of  the  ma- 
chine up  to  16,930  pounds.  At  this  weight,  three 
more  hops  were  made. 

There  had  now  been  made  six  hops,  giving  a  total 
time  in  the  air  of  4f  minutes.  The  operation  of  the 
plane,  though  not  entirely  satisfactory,  was  excellent. 
It  was  evident  that  the  designers  had  developed  an 
airplane  different  in  many  ways  from  any  machine 
previously  built,  but  which,  on  the  whole,  fulfilled  ex- 
pectations and  promised  excellent  results. 


126        THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S 

The  weights  added  for  the  correction  of  the  tail 
heaviness  had  not  accomplished  their  purpose.  The 
effect  of  the  powerful  blast  from  the  propellers  on  the 
tail  surfaces  was  greater  than  anticipated,  and  other 
methods  were  necessary  to  remedy  this  tail-heavy  con- 
dition. Of  an  airplane's  structure,  the  member  of  the 
tail  surface  known  as  the  stabilizer  is  one  of  the  most 
important.  Upon  the  relation  between  this  stabilizer 
and  the  wings  of  the  airplane  depends  in  almost  im- 
portant degree  the  ability  of  the  airplane  to  carry 
out  an  ordered  flight.  It  was  evident  that  in  the 
N.C.  1  this  relationship  was  not  a  correct  one,  and  a 
procedure  was  adopted,  a  usual  one  in  airplane  con- 
struction, of  so  changing  the  position  of  the  stabilizer 
as  to  vary  the  relationship. 

There  followed  now  a  series  of  tests  with  con- 
stantly increasing  loads,  and  with  constantly  increas- 
ing confidence  on  the  part  of  the  flyers  in  this 
boat.  It  was  found  that  at  normal  angles  of  flight 
and  at  weights  ordinarily  to  be  expected,  within 
range  of  flying  weights,  the  airplane  handled  very 
easily,  was  remarkably  stable  inherently  without 
having  lost  its  controllability,  and  that  flight  with 
it  was,  in  reality,  very  little  more  difficult  than  with 
a  much  smaller  boat.  This  ease  of  flight  was  con- 
tributed to,  in  a  pronounced  degree,  by  the  fact  that 
the  three  control  surfaces,  the  ailerons,  the  elevators, 
and  the  rudders,  were  each  of  what  is  known  as  the 
balanced  type.  That  is  to  say,  a  portion  of  the  sur- 
face of  each  of  these  control  surfaces  was  placed  for- 
ward of  the  axis  around  which  these  surfaces  work. 
The  result  is  that  the  air,  striking  these  surfaces  for- 


THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S        127 

ward  of  the  axis  itself,  assists  in  turning  these  control 
surfaces  in  the  direction  desired.  The  proper  pro- 
portioning of  these  surfaces  is  a  matter  of  great  dif- 
ficulty. An  airplane  flies  at  so  many  different  speeds, 
and  under  such  different  conditions  of  propeller  revo- 
lutions and  flight  angles,  that  the  degree*  of  balance 
satisfactory  for  one  condition  may  be  entirely  unsat- 
isfactory for  another  condition.  The  determinations 
in  the  case  of  the  surfaces  of  the  N.C.  1,  however, 
have  proven  to  be  remarkably  satisfactory,  and  have 
given  this  large  boat  an  ease  of  flight  and  of  control 
highly  gratifying  to  its  designers,  as  well  as  satis- 
factory to  its  pilots. 

There  also  followed  the  inevitable  process  of 
changes.  One  change  after  another  was  made,  some 
important,  some  unimportant,  and  there  would  be 
little  interest  in  describing  these  changes  in  detail 
or  the  reasons  therefor.  The  effect  of  them,  taken 
as  a  total,  was  beneficial,  and  it  may  be  said  that  the 
performance  of  these  boats  has  been  improving  so 
constantly,  due  to  changes,  modifications,  and  knowl- 
edge of  their  characteristics,  that,  even  yet,  it  is 
impracticable  to  state  definitely  what  they  are  cap- 
able of.  Among  the  most  important  changes  made 
were  an  increase  in  the  fuel  capacity  of  the  boat,  a 
change  in  the  gasoline  fittings  from  aluminum  to 
bronze,  and  a  change  in  the  nature  of  many  of  the 
valves  in  this  system. 

Naval  Constructor  Richardson  had  been  so  much 
encouraged  by  the  performance  of  the  N.C.  1  that 
he  determined  on  a  more  ambitious  project  than  the 
simple  tests  this  boat  had  been  engaged  upon.  On 


128        THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S 

the  7th  of  November,  with  Commander  Richardson 
as  officer  in  charge  and  acting  as  assistant  pilot,  and 
Lieutenant  Dave  H.  McCulloch  as  pilot,  a  start  was 
made  from  Rockaway  Beach  for  the  city  of  Wash- 
ington, for  the  purpose  of  exhibiting  this  large  bird 
to  the  interested  officials  in  that  city.  In  addition  to 
these  officers  there  were  on  this  flight,  as  passengers, 
or  as  members  of  the  crew,  Lieutenant  Harold  Wes- 
son, Ensign  G.  N.  Gregory,  Ensign  C.  J.  McCarthy, 
Ensign  H.  B.  Sanford,  Machinist  P.  H.  Danly,  Chief 
Special  Mechanic  E.  H.  Howard,  and  Chief  Machin- 
ist's Mate  Rhodes,  a  total  of  nine.  The  weight  of  the 
flying  boat  at  getaway  was  20,272  pounds.  Six  hun- 
dred and  ninety -one  gallons  of  gasoline  were  carried, 
and  the  oil  tanks  and  radiators  were  filled.  The 
getaway  from  Rockaway  Beach  was  made  at  10:50 
A.  M.,  after  a  run  on  the  water  of  forty  seconds.  The 
day  was  fair  and  clear.  A  light  west  wind  was  blow- 
ing and  the  sea  at  Rockaway  Beach  was  practically 
smooth. 

After  taking  the  air  and  rounding  the  point  at 
Rockaway  Beach,  the  course  was  set  parallel  to  the 
New  Jersey  and  Delaware  coasts  to  Metomkin 
Bay.  It  was  the  intention  to  cross  the  peninsula  at 
this  point  to  Pocomoke  Sound  on  Chesapeake  Bay, 
and  to  proceed  up  Chesapeake  Bay  and  the  Potomac 
River  to  Washington. 

For  the  first  half  hour  everything  proceeded 
smoothly;  then  a  leak  was  discovered  in  the  water 
connections  of  the  central  radiator.  The  central 
motor  was  shut  down  and  the  flight  was  continued 
with  the  two  outer  motors,  an  attempt  being  made  to 


THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S        129 

repair  the  leak  while  in  the  air.  This  was  found  im- 
practicable, and  it  was  decided  to  land  and  repair  the 
leak  before  proceeding.  In  the  event  of  necessity, 
the  flight  could  have  been  continued  with  the  two 
motors,  but  as  it  was  intended  to  cross  the  peninsula 
for  a  considerable  distance,  it  was  considered  inad- 
visable to  continue  the  flight  without  the  repair  nec- 
essary, as  in  the  event  of  the  stoppage  of  another 
motor  a  landing  would  have  become  imperative  and, 
if  made  on  land,  would  have  destroyed  the  machine 
and  seriously  endangered  the  lives  of  all  on  board. 
At  11 :25  a  landing  was  made  on  the  ocean,  just  north 
of  Barnegat  Inlet.  The  leak  was  repaired,  and  the 
radiator  was  filled  with  sea  water,  since  no  provision 
had  been  made  for  such  a  contingency,  and  no  spare 
water  had  been  taken.  The  element  of  a  flying 
boat  is  the  air,  and  little  provision  is  ordinarily  made 
for  contingencies  which  may  happen  on  the  water. 
No  provision  had  been  made  for  the  present  one, 
and  the  process  of  dipping  water  from  the  sea  for 
the  filling  of  this  radiator  was  a  difficult  one.  It  was 
finally  accomplished  by  means  of  one  of  the  boat 
bilge  pumps,  by  pumping  from  the  sea  into  an  am- 
munition box  placed  on  the  deck,  and  from  the 
ammunition  box  to  the  radiator  above,  by  means  of 
the  other  bilge  pump.  At  the  time,  the  swells  in  the 
ocean  at  that  point  were  very  high,  and  added  to 
the  difficulty  of  work  of  this  nature  on  a  light  struc- 
ture which  bobbed  around  like  a  cork,  was  the  fact 
that  several  of  the  passengers  and  crew  were  seasick. 
After  an  hour,  however,  repairs  were  completed,  all 
radiators  were  filled,  and  a  new  getaway  was.  made. 


130        THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S 

The  landing  off  Barnegat  has  been  spoken  of  at 
considerable  length  as  it  was  of  great  importance. 
The  swells  were  of  the  ordinary  ocean  type  and  were 
about  ten  feet  high.  Almost  no  breeze  was  blowing. 
Notwithstanding  these  swells  and  the  absence  of  a 
breeze  to  assist  in  landing  and  in  getting  away,  the 
landing  was  made  without  any  sensation  of  shock, 
and  the  getaway  was  accomplished  after  a  run  of 
one  minute,  and  without  any  appreciable  difficulty. 
As  has  been  said  before,  the  element  of  a  flying  boat 
is  the  air.  It  rests  upon,  or  runs  upon,  the  water 
purely  as  a  matter  of  necessity  and  is  not  at  home 
there.  Its  home  is  in  an  element  less  than  1-800 
the  density  of  water,  and  it  must  be  built  of  a  light- 
ness fitting  it  for  this  element.  When,  therefore, 
the  N.C.  1,  built  for  this  lighter  element,  had  been 
able  to  accomplish  with  such  success  a  landing  and  a 
getaway  from  the  heavier  element,  at  that  time 
engaged  in  no  small  degree  of  its  usual  turbulence, 
it  was  considered  that  a  further  merit  of  this  sea- 
plane and  of  its  peculiar  type  of  boat  hull  had  been 
strikingly  demonstrated. 

The  remainder  of  the  trip  was  passed  without  any 
particular  incidents.  In  crossing  the  peninsula  from 
Metomkin  Bay  to  Pocomoke  Sound,  the  flight  was 
made  at  a  height  of  about  2,000  feet.  Instead  of 
following  the  Potomac  for  its  full  course,  as  had  been 
originally  intended,  it  was  decided,  on  account  of  the 
unexpected  delay  caused  by  the  leaking  radiator,  to  fly 
across  land  from  Mathias,  Va.,  to  Marshall  Hall,  Md., 
a  distance  of  about  eighteen  miles.  For  this  flight, 
an  altitude  of  2,500  feet  was  obtained.  Alexandria, 


THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S        131 

Va.,  was  passed  at  5  p.  M.  These  were  the  short 
days  of  the  year  and  dusk  was  approaching.  No 
attempt  was  made  to  fly  over  the  city  of  Washington, 
as  it  was  necessary  to  land  and  to  tie  up  before  dark. 
At  5:10  p.  M.,  a  landing  was  made  at  the  Anacostia 
Naval  Air  Station,  a  short  distance  from  the  Wash- 
ington Navy  Yard,  and  the  N.C.  1  was  taken  in  tow 
by  a  motor  launch  and  towed  to  her  mooring. 

On  the  following  morning,  she  was  visited  by 
Admiral  Taylor,  Chief  of  the  Bureau  of  Construction 
and  Repair,  the  officer  most  responsible  for  her  con- 
struction, since  it  was  he,  as  has  been  described  in 
considerable  detail  in  a  former  chapter,  who  decreed 
the  design  and  building;  by  Rear- Admiral  Griffin, 
Chief  of  the  Bureau  of  Steam  Engineering,  and  by 
many  other  officers  connected  with  the  Navy  De- 
partment in  Washington.  On  the  part  of  the  unof- 
ficial portion  of  Washington  society,  great  interest 
was  also  shown,  and  there  would  have  been  little 
difficulty  in  having  the  boat  thronged  with  visitors 
during  the  entire  time  of  its  stay  in  Washington. 
This  stay  was  brief.  At  1 :40  P.  M.,  the  anchor  was 
weighed  and  the  return  trip  was  commenced.  On 
this  trip,  a  flight  was  first  made  to  the  Naval  Air 
Station  at  Hampton  Roads,  Va.  On  board  were  the 
personnel  who  had  joined  at  Rockaway  Beach, 
with  an  added  passenger  in  the  person  of  Commander 
A.  K.  Atkins,  of  the  Bureau  of  Steam  Engineering. 
The  inevitable  moving-picture  operators  were  on 
hand,  and  all  operations  from  the  weighing  of  the 
anchor  to  the  instant  of  getaway  were  filmed. 

During  the  brief  stay  of  the  N.C.  1  in  Washing- 


132        THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S 

ton  there  was  invented  a  name  for  this  type  which 
has  come  more  and  more  into  popular  use.  A  news- 
paper reporter,  in  getting  his  notes  for  an  early  edi- 
tion, apparently  got  the  substance  and  not  the  mean- 
ing of  the  pronunciation  of  the  two  letters  N  C,  and 
in  the  article  from  his  pen,  published  in  the  after- 
noon paper,  referred  to  the  N.C.  1  as  the  Nancy. 
The  "patness"  of  this  designation  was  apparent,  and 
these  boats  are  now  very  often  referred  to  simply  as 
the  Nancies. 

The  flight  to  Hampton  Roads  followed  the  course 
down  the  Potomac  to  Monroe,  Va.,  thence  across 
country  to  Lloyds,  Va.,  on  the  Rappahannock,  down 
the  Rappahannock  to  Chesapeake  Bay,  thence  down 
the  bay  and  across  the  mouths  of  the  York  and  James 
rivers  to  Hampton  Roads  Air  Station,  on  the  site 
occupied  years  ago  by  the  Jamestown  Exposition. 
At  the  beginning  of  the  flight  the  atmosphere  was 
very  hazy  and  the  air  very  rough.  It  was  found  dif- 
ficult to  keep  the  Potomac  River  in  sight  unless  the 
boat  was  maintained  at  a  very  low  altitude.  When 
Monroe  was  reached,  however,  the  atmosphere  had 
cleared,  and  the  cross-country  flight  to  the  Rap- 
pahannock was  made  at  an  altitude  of  about  2,000 
feet. 

Just  before  Newport  News  was  reached,  the  course 
lay  directly  over  Langley  Field.  At  that  time  the 
altitude  was  about  2,000  feet,  which  seemed  a  con- 
siderable distance  above  the  field.  In  the  air  above, 
however,  a  single  Army  plane  flew  at  such  an  ele- 
vation as  to  be  barely  visible,  and  it  seemed  like 
a  mere  speck  in  the  sky.  Landing  at  the  Naval  Air 


THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S        133 

Station  at  Hampton  Roads,  Va.,  was  made  at  4:29 
p.  M. 

On  the  following  morning  the  boat  was  made 
ready  for  the  return  trip  to  the  Rockaway  Beach 
Naval  Air  Station.  Commander  Atkins  left  at  this 
point,  and  the  personnel  of  the  crew  were  those  who 
had  joined  on  the  start  from  Rockaway  Beach.  At 
10:57  A.  M.,  a  start  was  made,  but  before  going  any 
distance  carburetor  trouble  developed  in  the  centre 
motor  and  it  was  necessary  to  land  and  clean  this 
carburetor.  About  an  hour  later  the  final  getaway 
was  made,  and  the  course  was  set  across  the  entrance 
of  Chesapeake  Bay,  and  up  the  coast  to  Rocka- 
way Beach  without  any  special  incidents  of  inter- 
est. The  trip  was  completed  and  the  landing  was 
made  at  the  Rockaway  Beach  Air  Station  at  4  P.  M. 

On  this  round- trip  flight  1,024  gallons  of  gasoline 
had  been  consumed.  The  total  miles  traversed  were 
819;  the  total  time  of  operation  of  the  motors  was  12 
hours  and  13  minutes.  The  gasoline  consumption 
was  83.8  gallons  per  hour,  or  1.25  gallons  per  mile. 

It  may  be  said  with  certainty  that  from  the  seeds 
of  this  trip  budded  the  confidence  which  later  flowered 
into  the  plans  for  the  adventure  of  the  N.C.  boats 
on  the  transatlantic  flight.  By  it  many  of  the 
chief  doubters  of  the  success  of  the  design  were  con- 
vinced of  their  error,  and  were  converted  into  advo- 
cates of  the  type. 

Ordinary  routine  flights  for  test  purposes  were 
made  from  the  time  of  this  return  until  the  27th  of 
the  month — the  day  before  Thanksgiving.  On  this 
day  the  N.C.  1  was  taken  out  for  the  purpose  of 


134        THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S 

breaking  a  world's  record.  Shortly  before  this 
a  Super-Handley-Page  airplane  had  made  a  flight 
in  London  carrying  40  passengers,  and  it  was  desired 
to  exceed  this  performance.  Into  the  hull  of  the 
N.C.1,  and  into  the  centre  nacelle,  there  were 
packed  50  persons,  mostly  officers  and  enlisted  men  on 
duty  at  the  Rockaway  Beach  Naval  Air  Station,  and 
the  flight  was  made.  This  flight  was,  in  reality,  of  lit- 
tle more  than  a  half  minute's  duration,  as  it  was  not 
desired  to  take  any  greater  risk  with  so  many  lives. 
The  amount  of  weight,  however,  was  considerably 
less  than  this  seaplane  has  flown  with,  and  it  could 
have  made  a  flight  of  several  hours'  duration  without 
any  difficulty. 

Upon  returning  to  the  landing,  the  passengers 
were  disembarked,  and  were  counted,  and  it  was 
found  that  instead  of  the  50  expected,  there  disem- 
barked 51.  One  of  the  men  attached  to  the  Rocka- 
way Beach  Air  Station,  Machinist's  Mate,  2d  class, 
Harry  D.  Moulton,  being  possessed  with  an  over- 
whelming desire  to  have  a  ride  on  this  boat  on  that 
historic  occasion,  had  stowed  himself  away  beside 
the  gas  tanks  in  a  narrow  passageway,  in  such  a  space 
that  he  must  have  been  most  uncomfortable.  He 
had  remained  in  this  space  for  an  hour  and  a  half 
before  the  flight  began. 

There  have  been  occasions  before  when  unexpected 
passengers  have  been  taken  into  the  air.  Work- 
men engaged  on  the  interior  of  large  flying  boats  have 
found  themselves  involuntary  companions  of  pilots 
who  have  gone  aloft  without  a  sufficiently  thorough 
examination  of  their  craft;  earnest  individuals, 


THOSE  WHO  GO  UP  IN  THE  AIR  IN  SHIPS 

Three  flying  sailors  of  the  N.C.  1,  two  of  them  in  their  air  clothes.     They 
are,  left  to  right,  Lieut-Commander  Bellinger  and  Pilots  Mitscher  and  Barm 


(&  International  Film  Service 

READY  TO  START  FOR  THE  AZORES 

The  "Lame  Duck"  has  caught  up  with  the  others  and  all  three  are  ready 
to  start  the  long  "hop"  which  she  alone  was  destined  to  make  in  safety 


International  Film  Service 

THE  START  OF  THE  TRANS-ATLANTIC  FLIGHT  FROM 
ROCKAWAY  BEACH 


THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S        135 

mostly  of  the  German  race,  failing  to  let  go  of  lines 
attached  to  dirigibles  or  to  kite  balloons,  have  soared 
aloft  with  them,  generally  to  their  undoing.  There 
has  not  previously,  in  all  probability,  been  a  case 
where  a  man  deliberately  crawled  into  the  structure  of 
a  flying  boat,  and,  without  the  permission  or  knowl- 
edge of  the  pilot,  stowed  himself  away  in  order  that 
he  might  be  a  party  to  the  flight  in  contemplation. 
To  Moulton,  therefore,  belongs  a  dual  record:  that 
of  having  assisted  in  breaking  a  world's  record,  and 
that  of  having  done  so  uninvited,  as  the  first  aerial 
stowaway. 

On  January  17th,  it  was  decided  that  the  tests  of 
this  craft  were  completed;  that  its  period  of  growth 
and  training  had  ended  and  that  it  could  be  turned 
over  to  the  operating  branch  of  the  Navy  for  active 
service.  On  that  day  it  was  delivered  by  the  Bureaus 
of  Construction  and  Repair  and  Steam  Engineering 
into  the  custody  of  the  Division  of  Operations,  and 
was  by  that  Division  assigned  for  operating  purposes 
to  the  Rockaway  Beach  Naval  Air  Station, 


CHAPTER  IX 

NUMBERLESS  ALTERATIONS  STOP  PROGRESS — THE  RE- 
PORT TO  THE  PLANNING  COMMITTEE — OTHER  OFFI- 
CIAL CORRESPONDENCE — SPEEDING  UP  PREPARATIONS 
— CHANGES — "N.C.  2"  GIVES  HER  WINGS  TO  "N.C.  l" — 
ACCIDENTS — THE  DELIVERY  OF  THE  BOATS 

ATER  the  first  flights  of  the  N.C.  1  there 
began  to  be,  on  the  part  of  a  number  of 
officers  of  the  Navy  Department,  an  active 
interest  in  the  subject  of  the  transatlantic  flight. 
In  spite  of  the  technical  continuation  of  the  war, 
everybody  realized  that,  as  a  matter  of  actual  fact, 
it  was  completed.  The  N.C.  boats,  built  originally 
for  strictly  war  purposes,  would  no  longer  be  re- 
quired for  such  purposes,  and  it  was  in  order  to 
consider  to  what  useful  purpose  they  could  be  put 
at  the  earliest  date.  It  was  natural  and  logical 
that  as  soon  as  the  N.C.I,  in  its  trials,  developed 
the  possibilities  of  this  type,  thought  should  turn 
to  flying  the  ocean  with  them  as  a  peace-time  ac- 
complishment instead  of  as  the  purely  military 
purpose  for  which  these  flights  had  originally  been 
contemplated. 

Reports  reached  me  in  Europe  of  the  consideration 
being  given  the  transatlantic  flight,  and  after 
my  return  to  this  country,  on  December  16,  1918, 
this  was  one  of  the  things  of  interest  concerning 

136 


THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S        137 

which  inquiry  was  first  made  by  myself.  It  was 
found  that  a  "Planning  Committee"  of  the  Division 
of  Operations  had  been  appointed  to  consider  and 
report  upon  this  project,  but  the  demobilization 
duties,  thrown  on  that  division  by  the  "blowing 
up"  of  the  war,  were  so  great  that  this  committee  had 
been  physically  unable  to  devote  any  time  to  extrane- 
ous subjects,  and  had  done  little  or  nothing  regarding 
a  flight  across  the  ocean. 

Down  on  Long  Island,  where  the  N.C.  boats 
were  building,  it  was  found  that  progress  on  them 
had  been  almost  entirely  stopped  while  improvement 
suggested  by  the  trials  on  the  N.C.I  were  being 
incorporated.  Commander  Richardson  had  had 
charge  of  practically  all  of  the  flight  trials  of  the 
N.C.I,  and  it  was  under  his  direction  that  the  changes 
and  modifications  in  the  later  boats,  suggested  by 
these  trials,  were  being  made.  As  there  was  no 
longer  any  urgency  felt  in  connection  with  the  com- 
pletion of  these  boats  for  anti-submarine  purposes, 
it  was  distinctly  the  logical  thing  to  proceed  with 
beneficial  modifications  in  the  later  boats  to  develop 
a  type  as  nearly  perfect  as  possible.  The  inescapa- 
ble effect  of  starting  these  changes,  however,  was 
that  work  had  to  be  held  up  on  the  other  boats  and 
that,  with  the  exception  of  the  N.C. 2,  no  work  at 
all,  except  engineering  work  and  the  preparation 
of  plans,  was  in  progress.  The  N ' .C.2  was  too  far 
advanced  to  make  the  inclusion  of  the  major  portion 
of  these  changes  desirable  and  was,  therefore,  being 
proceeded  with,  and  was  very  nearly  completed. 

Consideration  of  the  requirements  of  the  trans- 


138       THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S 

atlantic  flight  gave  a  different  aspect  to  the  situa- 
tion. It  was  evident  that  the  completion  of  these 
boats  in  tune  for  the  flight  would  involve  a  curtail- 
ment of  the  process  of  change  and  the  building  of  the 
boats  very  much  in  accordance  with  the  plans  al- 
ready developed.  From  the  plans,  which  it  was 
presumed  were  being  made  by  other  countries  or  by 
individuals,  for  the  transatlantic  flight,  it  seemed 
certain  that  if  the  United  States  Navy  was  to  be 
first  across,  the  start  from  this  side  must  be  made 
some  time  in  the  late  spring.  It  was  decided,  there- 
fore, to  discontinue  immediately  the  programme  of 
changes,  and  to  proceed  with  the  completion  of  the 
boats  as  originally  decided  upon  with  the  inclusion 
of  only  such  changes  as  could  be  made  incident  to 
this  completion,  and  without  holding  up  entirely 
the  progress  on  the  boats.  This  plan  was,  accord- 
ingly, immediately  proceeded  with,  and  in  a  short 
time  construction  work  was  again  in  full  blast.  Of 
Commander  Richardson's  suggestions,  and  of  the 
suggestions  made  by  the  officers  connected  with  the 
power  plant  installation,  for  improving  the  N.C. 
boats,  it  was  possible  during  construction  to  adopt 
many,  and  practically  all  of  them  have  been  found 
to  be  of  the  greatest  merit,  and  to  have  the  effect 
of  improving  the  design  as  a  whole. 

Shortly  after  Christmas,  it  was  possible  to  discuss, 
in  Washington,  with  Captain  Tompkins  of  the  Divi- 
sion of  Operations,  the  head  of  the  Transatlantic 
Flight  "Planning  Committee,"  the  question  of  this 
flight.  We  discussed  the  flight  itself,  the  condition 
of  the  N.C.  boats  at  that  time,  the  many  things  re- 


THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S        139 

maining  to  be  done,  and  the  many  steps  to  be  taken 
in  connection  with  them  and  the  other  plans  of  the 
flight.  A  very  great  amount  of  work  remained  to 
be  done  during  the  comparatively  short  time  re- 
maining available,  and  it  was  evident  that  the  project 
must  be  immediately  started  with  the  greatest 
amount  of  energy  by  all  of  the  branches  of  the  Naval 
Service  who  would  be  connected  with  it,  if  possi- 
bilities of  success  were  to  be  a  maximum.  At 
Captain  Tompkins'  request  I  prepared  for  him  a 
few  days  later  the  report  now  quoted: 

No.  3109  January  15,  1919. 

From:  Commander  G.  C.  Westervelt,  Construc- 
tion Corps,  U.S.N.,  New  York  City. 

To:  Captain  John  P.  Tompkins,  U.S.N., 

Operations,  Navy  Department,  Washing- 
ton, D.C. 

Subject:  Transatlantic  Flight — Discussion  of  de- 
tails. 

1.  Consideration  of   the    subject    of    a   transat- 
lantic flight  by  an  airplane  indicates  that  the  project 
is  one  which  for  its  success  will  probably  depend,  so 
far  as  the  first  flight  of  this  nature  is  concerned,  on 
Governmental  backing.     The  first  accomplishment 
of  this  feat  will  give  to  the  organization  of  the  Govern- 
ment accomplishing  it  a  considerable   amount  of 
deserved  prestige.     It  is,  naturally,  my  desire,  as  I 
have  no  doubt  it  is  that  of  the  majority  of  the  officers 
of  the  Naval  Service,  that  this  flight  be  first  accom- 
plished b.y  craft  built  and  flown  under  the  control 
of  the  Navy  Department. 

2.  There  can  be  no  doubt  that  several  govern- 
ments, or,  in  any  event,  organizations  in  several 
countries  receiving  the  approval  and  support  of  their 


140        THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S 

governments,  are  making  active  preparations  for 
attempting  this  flight  during  the  coming  spring  and 
summer.  A  careful  consideration  of  the  elements 
involved  indicates  that  the  chances  of  success  are 
considerably  more  than  even.  If,  therefore,  the 
United  States  Navy  is  to  have  the  opportunity  of 
accomplishing  this  flight  before  it  has  been  accom- 
plished by  any  other  country,  or  by  an  individual,  or  a 
syndicate  formed  for  the  purpose,  and  acting  under 
Governmental  encouragement,  steps  should  be  taken 
toward  an  immediate  organization  of  the  project 
along  lines  which  will  reduce  the  elements  of  failure 
to  an  absolute  minimum.  It  is  necessary,  also,  that 
the  arrangements  to  be  made  should  be  completed 
as  soon  as  practicable,  in  order  that  the  flight  might 
be  started  with  very  little  delay  should  it  be  found 
that  arrangements  of  any  other  persons  contemplat- 
ing such  a  flight  had  already  progressed  to  such  a 
point  as  to  endanger  the  priority  of  our  contemplated 
flight.  As  an  accompaniment  of  this,  the  greatest 
degree  of  reticence  should  be  preserved  regarding  all 
of  the  arrangements  made,  or  to  be  made,  and  the 
contemplated  date  at  which  the  flight  would  start. 

3.  As  is  well  known,  there  are  two  routes  for  this 
flight  which  promise  in  varying  degrees,  depending 
on  the  circumstances  under  which  the  flight  is  under- 
taken, a  successful  outcome.  One  route  is  from  St. 
Johns,  Newfoundland,  to  the  coast  of  Portugal,  via 
the  Azores.  The  other  is  from  St.  Johns,  New- 
foundland, to  Bantry  Bay,  Ireland,  direct.  It  has 
not,  as  yet,  been  practicable  to  examine  thoroughly 
enough  into  the  elements  of  these  two  courses  to  ad- 
vance a  definite  opinion  as  to  which  one,  if  either, 
offers  a  definite  advantage.  It  may  be  said,  however, 
that  to  the  large  type  of  flying  boat  now  under  con- 
struction by  the  Navy  Department,  the  N.C.  1  type, 
either  route  offers  a  very  fair  degree  of  success,  pro- 
vided the  undertaking  be  properly  organized,  and 


THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S        141 

as  many  of  the  elements  of  doubt  as  practicable  be 
eliminated  before  starting. 

4.  The  N.C.  1  type  of  flying  boat  is  capable  of  a 
flight  of  at  least  one  thousand  miles  with  a  crew  of  five 
men.     This  means,  whether  the  northern  route  or  the 
southern  route  be  adopted,  it  must  be  with  the  cer- 
tainty that  one  landing,  at  least,  for  replenishment  of 
gasoline  must  be  made  on  the  ocean  on  the  way. 
With  the  probability  of  receiving  some  assistance 
from  the  wind  on  the  northern  route,  one  landing, 
only,  will  be  required  on  this  route,  placing  this  route 
on  an  equality  with  the  southern  route.     As  no  flight 
would  be  started  unless  the  condition  of  the  ocean 
was  such  as  to  make  practicable  landing  and  getting 
away,  it  seems  fairly  reasonable  to  presume  that 
landing  near  a  ship  detailed  for  the  purpose,  taking 
on  a  supply  of  gasoline,  and  again  getting  away  for 
the  continuation  of  the  flight,  would  be  entirely  prac- 
ticable.     Dismissing,  therefore,  the  inescapable  ne- 
cessity of  landing  on  the  ocean  as  one  productive  of  no 
great  handicap,  consideration  may  immediately  be 
given  to  the  other  elements  of  the  project. 

5.  As  a  definite  accomplishment,  carrying  with  it 
all  of  the  prestige  related  to  an  accomplishment  of 
this  nature,  it  would,  I  believe,  be  advisable,  pro- 
vided the  chances  of  success  seem  sensibly  equal,  to 
attempt  the  northern  course  in  preference  to  the 
southern.     This  would  involve  a  fairly  straight-away 
flight,  on  a  course  somewhat  north  of  east,  of  slightly 
less  than  two  thousand  land  miles.     Presuming  that 
the  motors  run  successfully  for  the  length  of  flight 
involved  (approximately  thirty  hours  of  flying,  at  the 
speed  which  would  be  chosen,  counting  no  assistance 
from  the  wind),  this  flight,  as  a  flight,  reduces  itself 
largely  to  a  question  of  successfully  hitting  the  objec- 
tive at  the  far  end.     In  order  to  eliminate  the  pos- 
sibility of  failure  in  this  direction,  stake  boats  should 
be  located  at  definite  intervals,  probably  somewhere 


142        THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S 

in  the  neighbourhood  of  one  hundred  miles  apart, 
across  the  ocean  on  the  course  to  be  flown.  These 
boats,  presumably  destroyers,  or  small  craft  of  some 
nature,  would  be  a  definite  part  of  the  project,  and 
would  be  counted  upon  for  several  days  in  advance 
of  the  flight  for  weather  reports  on  which,  combined 
with  the  weather  reports  from  other  sources,  the  hour 
of  starting  the  flight  would  be  based. 

6.  St.  Johns  Harbour,  Newfoundland,  is,  as  men- 
tioned above,  the  logical  starting  point  for  such  a 
flight.    A  seaplane  attempting  this  flight  must  be  in 
that  harbour  a  number  of  days  in  advance  of  the  con- 
templated flight  in  order  to  take  advantage  of  the 
most  favourable  moment  for  starting.     In  reaching 
this  harbour  a  flight  of  seven  to  eight  hundred  miles 
from  Rockaway  Beach,  the  present  location  of  N.C.  19 
is  involved.     In  addition,  it  may  be  necessary  for 
seaplanes  attempting  this  flight  to  lie  at  St.  Johns  for 
a  considerable  length  of  time,  during  which  the  up- 
keep of  the  craft,  and  the  maintenance  of  crews  and 
up-keep  gangs,   would  be  necessary.     To  provide 
for  all  contingencies,  there  should  be  delivered  in 
advance  to  this  location  spare  engines  and  spare 
parts  for  the  power  plant  and  for  certain  portions 
of  the  plane,  as  well  as  a  complete  supply  of  the  very 
many   items   for   which   necessity  -may   be   found. 
There  will  be  several  hundred  of  such  items,  as  it 
would  be  unwise  to  rely  upon  the  local  markets  for 
the  provision  of  any  of  them.     The  gasoline  supply 
should   be   arranged   for.     If  practicable,  facilities 
should  be  provided  for  getting  these  seaplanes  out 
of  the  water,  in  order  to  keep  the  hulls  as  light  as 
possible,  and  all  necessary  facilities  for  the  housing 
of  the  crews  and  up-keep  gangs  should  be  provided. 

7.  Arrangements  will  be  required   at   St.  Johns 
for  receiving  weather  reports  from  all  localities,  the 
weather  of  which  might  have  a  bearing  on  the  flight. 
Cooperation  of  the  authorities  controlling  wireless 


THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S        143 

and  of  those  controlling  cables  would  be  necessary, 
since  hourly  weather  reports  across  the  Atlantic 
from  the  stake  boats,  from  the  Azores,  from  the  north 
of  Scotland,  and,  if  practicable,  from  Iceland,  would 
be  invaluable.  It  appears  to  me  also  that  it  would 
be  exceedingly  desirable  to  provide  St.  Johns,  as 
well  as  the  stake  boats,  with  a  large  number  of  sound- 
ing balloons  and  necessary  tubes  of  hydrogen  for 
testing  the  movement  of  the  air  up  to  five  thousand 
feet. 

8.  So  far  as  the  stake  boats  are  concerned,  each 
of   these    vessels    should    be   provided    with   some 
efficient  type  of  signalling  apparatus  by  means  of 
which  the  passing  seaplanes  can  be  easily  and  surely 
communicated  with  by  day  or  by  night.     Each  ves- 
sel, of  course,  will  report  to  the  vessel  astern  and  the 
vessel  ahead  the  hour  of  the  passing  of  the  seaplane, 
and  should  be  prepared  to  furnish  the  plane  with  in- 
formation regarding  the  direction  of  the  wind  and  the 
strength  of  the  wind  at  the  next  stake  boat  ahead,  in 
order  that  any  variation  in  the  wind  from  that  exist- 
ing at  the  hour  of  its  departure  might  be  taken  advan- 
tage of.     Each  stake  boat  should  also  be  provided 
with  some  means  of  creating  a  smoke  column,  and  of 
thereby  increasing  its  visibility  as  greatly  as  possible. 
Stake  boats  in  areas  in  which  a  landing  for  a  replen- 
ishment of  fuel  will  be  made  should  also  carry  suf- 
ficient gasoline  in  easily  transportable  containers  for 
replenishment  purposes,  and  should  also  carry  boats 
suitably  arranged  for  carrying  this  gasoline  and  for 
going  alongside  the  seaplane  with  the  minimum  dan- 
ger of  injury  to  the  plane. 

9.  So  far  as  I  know,  no  trials  have  been  made  to 
determine  the  effect  of  oil  on  the  water  as  of  assist- 
ance in  the  getting  away  of  a  seaplane  from  water  too 
rough  to  negotiate  otherwise.     It  appears  to  me  prob- 
able, however,  that  a  destroyer  ploughing  through 
the  sea  at  high  speed  and  releasing  at  the  same  time 


144        THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S 

a  considerable  quantity  of  oil  might  possibly  flatten 
out  the  sea  sufficiently  to  make  practicable  the  get- 
away of  a  seaplane  which  could  not  otherwise  ne- 
gotiate a  getaway.  I  would  suggest  the  desirability 
of  experimenting  in  this  direction,  and,  if  this  be 
found  of  assistance,  the  provision  of  the  necessary 
means  for  oiling  the  water  in  the  event  the  wind 
should  increase,  during  the  time  of  flight  to  a  landing 
place,  to  such  an  extent  as  to  make  impracticable 
otherwise  the  getting  away  of  a  seaplane  after 
landing. 

10.  It  is  evident  that  an  all-night  flight  will  be 
necessary.     Presuming  that  the  flight  in  question  will 
take  place  some  time  after  the  first  of  May  and  before 
the  end  of  June,  it  is  evident  that  in  these  high  lati- 
tudes a  comparatively  short  period  of  darkness  will  be 
encountered.     If  chance  should  make  it  desirable  to 
start  this  flight  during  periods  of  moonlight,  this 
period  of  darkness  will  be  still  further  reduced.     In 
any  case,  there  are  two  events  which  should  be  so 
arranged  as  to  fall  during  daylight:     One  is  landing 
near  a  stake  boat  for  fuel  replenishment;  the  other 
is  the  arrival  and  landing  at  destination  in  Bantry 
Bay.     It  seems  evident  that  the  starting  time  can 
be  over  several  hours  in  the  very  early  morning,  or 
over  several  hours  in  the  late  afternoon,  and  that, 
therefore,  a  considerable  portion  of  the  day  is  avail- 
able for  starting,   and  the  necessity  of  flying  all 
night  will  not  impose  any  material  difficulty.     On 
account  of  the  necessity  of  flying  at  night,  however, 
stake  boats  should  be  provided  with  powerful  flares 
which  they  can  use,  in  addition  to  their  searchlights, 
for  indicating  their  positions,  provided  they  lie  within 
the  passing  areas  at  night. 

11.  With  regard  to  airplanes  of  the  N.C.  1  type, 
the  present  situation  is  as  follows : 

(a)  Four  flying  boats  of  this  type  are  under 
construction.     Two  have  been  completed,  and 


THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S        145 

the  third  one  will  be  completed  about  the  first 
of  February.  The  fourth  boat  will  be  com- 
pleted about  the  middle  of  March.  The  first 
of  these  boats  has  had  sufficient  trials  to  indicate 
its  suitability  for  the  service  proposed,  and  to 
indicate  that  the  remaining  boats  will  also  be 
suitable  for  such  a  project. 

(b)  Unless    unexpected    casualties    overtake 
the  N.C.  1  flying  boats,  it  seems  reasonable  to 
presume  that  at  least  three  of  them  will  be 
available  for  this   transatlantic  flight  by  the 
first  of  May,  which,  it  is  presumed,  would  be 
the  earliest  date  on  which  the  flight  in  question 
could  be  started.     It  is,   therefore,   suggested 
that  all  four  of  these  boats  be  flown  at  the  proper 
time  to  St.  Johns,  and  that  of  these  four,  the 
three  in  best  condition,  from  every  considera- 
tion, be  started  on  the  transatlantic  flight  when 
the  hour  arrives  for  the  starting  of  this  flight. 

(c)  It  appears  to  me  that  there  is  at  least  an 
even  chance  of  getting  all  three  of  these  boats 
across;  better  than  a  two-to-one  chance  of  getting 
two  of  them  across;  and  considerably  more  than 
a  three-to-one  chance  of  getting  one  of  them 
across. 

12.  In  the  event  of  the  failure  of  any  one  or  all  of 
these  boats  to  complete  the  distance,  the  chances  are, 
of  course,  that  the  boat  itself  must  be  sacrificed. 
This  does  not,  however,  follow  absolutely,  and,  under 
favourable  circumstances,  it  might  be  possible  to  tow 
one  of  these  craft  back  into  port.  In  the  event  of 
failure  to  cross  resulting  in  a  forced  landing  of  any 
one  or  all  of  these  boats,  total  destruction  upon 
landing  being  very  unlikely,  there  seems  little  rea- 
son to  doubt  that  the  members  of  the  crews  would 
be  saved.  These  boats  should  be  provided  with 
wireless  sufficiently  powerful  for  signalling  to  the 
nearest  stake  boat;  should  carry  navigational  ap- 


146        THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S 

pliances  sufficient  for  the  location  of  their  posi- 
tions; and  even  if  unable  to  rise  again  after  a  forced 
landing  will  probably  have  two  engines  left  in  work- 
ing order,  and  be  able  with  these  engines  to  taxi  to 
the  nearest  stake  boat.  Any  one  boat  dropping  out 
of  formation  and  landing,  would,  of  course,  be  re- 
ported by  the  others  to  the  next  stake  boat  passed, 
so  that  rescuing  operations  could  be  immediately 
undertaken. 

13.  Although,  as  stated  above,  a  considerable  num- 
ber of  flights  have  been  made  already  with  the  first 
of  these  boats,  much  data  remains  to  be  accumulated, 
and  many  flights  should,  if  possible,  be  made  before 
the  transatlantic  flight  in  contemplation  is  at- 
tempted. I  do  not  consider  that  the  most  satis- 
factory propellers  have  been  installed,  and  believe 
that  a  series  of  tests  should  be  carried  out  for  the 
determination  of  the  most  satisfactory  propellers 
for  use  on  this  flight.  Although  much  data  has  been 
collected  during  the  last  year  regarding  the  running 
of  courses  at  sea,  it  is  believed  that  further  experi- 
ments should  be  undertaken  with  various  winds, 
running  courses  marked  by  stake  boats  at  least  one 
hundred  miles  apart,  so  that  definite  data  may  be 
secured  as  to  the  methods  of  running  these  courses, 
and  the  use  which  can  be  made  of  the  information 
received  from  the  stake  boats  regarding  the  direction 
of  winds  on  the  surface,  and  in  the  upper  air.  Drills 
should  be  carried  out  on  fuelling  at  sea,  in  order  to 
determine  the  best  sizes  of  containers  to  be  carried 
by  the  stake  boats,  the  best  methods  of  handling 
these  containers,  and  the  lengths  of  time  which 
should  be  allowed  in  the  schedule  of  the  trip  for 
fuelling  operations.  Trials  should  be  made  in  fairly 
rough  water  to  determine  the  effect,  if  any,  of  run- 
ning a  high-speed  destroyer  ahead  and  oiling  the 
surface  of  the  sea,  in  order  to  assist  in  getting  a  boat 
into  the  air.  Several  sustained  flights,  of  at  least 


THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S        147 

eight  hundred  to  nine  hundred  miles,  should  be  car- 
ried out  with  each  one  of  the  craft  possibly  to  be 
entered  in  this  flight,  in  order  that  the  probable 
points  of  weakness  may  be  indicated  and  strength- 
ened. 

14.  Upon  the  arrival  of  these  boats  at  St.  Johns, 
preliminary   to   the   starting    of    the    transatlantic 
flight,  they  should  be  equipped  with  new  engines, 
carefully  tested,  and  inspected  for  every  possible 
defect. 

15.  It  is  presumed  that  the  crew  for  each  boat 
will  be  five  men.    All  of  these  men  should  be  naval 
pilots,  two,  at  least,  of  them  skilled  in  connection 
with  the  Liberty  motor.     Two  men,  at  least,  of  each 
five  should  be  skilled  as  aerial  navigators.     At  least 
four  of  the  pilots  for  each  boat  should,  as  soon  as 
possible,  be  assembled  at  Rockaway  Beach,  or  at 
Hampton  Roads,  and  immediately  trained  in  con- 
nection with  the  flying  of  these  boats,  and,  in  partic- 
ular, in  matters  of  detail  connected  with  the  Liberty 
engine  and  with  the  power  plant  of  these  craft,  and  in 
aerial  navigation   and   seamanship.     It  is  not  re- 
garded as  necessary  for  the  commanding  officers  of 
these  craft  to  report  for  this  duty  more  than  six 
weeks  in  advance. 

16.  These    officers    should,    of    course,    be    vol- 
unteers; should  be  in  the  most  perfect  possible  phy- 
sical condition;  and,  other  things  being  equal,  should 
be  of  average  weight.     In  order  to  provide  for  cas- 
ualties of  any  sort  during  this  preparatory  period,  two 
or  three  additional  officers  should  be  detailed  with  the 
specific  understanding  that  they  are  additional,  and 
that  they  will  start  the  flight  only  in  the  event  of  some 
other  officers  dropping  out. 

17.  There  should  also  be  detailed,  as  soon  as  boats 
are  completed  and  delivered  to  handling  stations, 
about  twenty  men  of  various  ratings,  in  accordance 
with  lists  previously  submitted  to  Operations,  Avia- 


148        THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S 

tion,  by  the  Commanding  Officer,  Rockaway  Beach 
Air  Station,  as  a  permanent  handling  and  up-keep 
gang  for  each  boat.  These  men  should  be  carefully 
trained  from  now  until  the  time  of  flight  in  their 
duties,  and  should  be  sent  sufficiently  ahead  of  the 
date  of  the  flight  to  St.  Johns,  Newfoundland,  to  be 
ready  for  immediate  work  on  these  boats  upon  their 
arrival  there.  This  work  will  involve  the  removal  of 
the  engines  installed,  installation  of  new  engines, 
and  the  general  overhauling,  truing  up,  and  testing 
of  all  features  of  the  craft.  With  these  men  should 
be  sent  complete  equipment  of  all  items  found  neces- 
sary in  the  handling  and  up-keep  of  these  craft. 
These  items  are  several  hundred  in  number,  and  data 
regarding  them  is  now  being  accumulated  at  Rocka- 
way Beach.  The  provision  of  these  items  and 
their  delivery  at  St.  Johns,  with  the  handling  and 
up-keep  crews,  will  require  most  careful  attention, 
as,  it  is  safe  to  say,  they  are,  with  few  exceptions,  of 
such  a  nature  that  they  cannot  be  obtained  in  that 
port. 

18.  Many  special  articles,  like  Thermos  bottles, 
water  containers,  condensed  foods  of  various  kinds, 
chronometer  watches,  eiderdown  sleeping  bags,  etc., 
etc.,  must  be  provided  and  installed.     In  addition, 
provision  must  be  made  for  water  flares  for  use  in 
connection  with  navigation,  for  sounding  balloons, 
and  for  hydrogen  bottles,  as  well  as  for  other  things 
which  will  undoubtedly  be  found  necessary. 

19.  The  subject  has  by  no  means  been  exhausted, 
but  enough  points  have,  I  believe,  been  brought  out 
to  indicate  the  fact  that  very  careful  attention  will 
be  required  from  some  organization  working  speci- 
fically on  the  details  of  this  project,  to  prevent  the 
oversight  of  some  very  important  detail.     As  I  told 
you  several  days  ago,  I  have  for  some  months  had 
this  project  in  mind,  and  have  had  my  organization 
working  on  it.    We  are  favourably  located  to  con- 


THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S        140 

tinue  the  problems  involved;  are  being  rapidly  re- 
lieved of  the  major  portion  of  our  duties,  due  to  the 
completion  of  aircraft  contracts  on  which  we  have 
been  engaged;  and  are,  for  the  reasons  cited,  in  a 
position  to  undertake,  under  the  direction  of  a  cen- 
tral planning  committee  in  Washington,  the  organ- 
ization of  this  project,  and  the  carrying  out  of  the 
multitude  of  details  involved.  I  shall  be  very  happy 
to  cooperate  with  you  in  anything,  and  to  any  ex- 
tent, in  making  this  project  a  success.  I  believe  the 
fact  of  our  location  in  New  York,  outside  the  some- 
what distracting  atmosphere  of  Washington,  would 
make  it  possible  for  us  to  carry  out  necessary  ar- 
rangements with  less  interruption  than  would  be 
experienced  in  Washington.  I  shall  be  glad  to  sup- 
ply office  space  and  office  facilities  to  any  one  you 
care  to  connect  with  the  project.  Many  of  these  de- 
tails are  of  such  a  nature  that  a  considerable  amount 
of  time  will  be  required  for  their  successful  solution, 
and  it  is  my  opinion  that  no  more  time  than  is  abso- 
lutely necessary  should  be  lost  before  attacking  them. 
Progress  in  airplane  tests  and  experiments,  and  in 
the  provision  of  special  articles  required  by  aircraft, 
is  so  slow  and  tedious  that  very  careful  conserva- 
tion of  the  time  remaining  before  the  date  at  which 
this  flight  would  become  practicable  should  be  ex- 
ercised. 

20.  If  you  should  care  to  call  on  me  for  assistance, 
I  shall  visit  Washington  at  any  time  you  elect,  to  dis- 
cuss with  you  and  your  planning  committee  the  de- 
tails of  the  project,  and  the  portion  of  these  details 
you  would  care  to  have  our  attention  for. 

/s/        G.  C.  WESTERVELT. 

About  two  weeks  later  the  project  was  placed  be- 
fore the  Secretary  of  the  Navy  in  the  following  com- 
munication from  the  Planning  Committee.  The 


150       THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S 

Secretary's  enthusiasm  was  immediately  aroused, 
and  his  approval  was  promptly  forthcoming.  His 
support  and  encouragement  of  the  project  from 
then  until  its  successful  conclusion  were  unfailing. 

2-AH    Ql 

Op-Air  SECRET 

068-A-25  f  February  4,  1919. 

From:  Chief  of  Naval  Operations. 

To:  All  Bureaus. 

Commander-in-Chief,   Atlantic  Fleet. 

Subject:  Transatlantic  Flight. 

Enclosure:  (A)  Copy  of  recommendation  of  Planning 
Committee  on  above  subject  with 
Secretary  of  the  Navy's  endorse- 
ment of  approval. 

1.  Enclosure  "A"  is  forwarded  for  your  informa- 
tion and  compliance. 

2.  It  is  especially  desirable,  in  view  of  the  many 
uncertain  elements  which  may  affect  this  project,  that 
it  be  considered  as  "secret." 

/S/      J.  M.  McRBAN 

Acting. 

NAVY   DEPARTMENT  Ql 

OFFICE   OF  NAVAL  OPERATIONS 

WASHINGTON 
Op-35  SECRET 

From:  Planning  Committee. 
To:  Chief  of  Naval  Operations. 
Subject:  Transatlantic  Flight. 

Foreword 

As  early  as  1914  a  transatlantic   flight   was   se- 
riously contemplated  and  Commander  J.  H.  Towers, 


THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S        151 

(then  Lieutenant)  was  ordered  by  the  Navy  Depart- 
ment to  observe  the  preliminary  tests  and  experi- 
ments and  to  report  upon  the  feasibility  of  the 
project.  The  war  put  an  end  to  this  special  under- 
taking, but  it  had  a  marked  effect  in  causing  devel- 
opments in  aviation,  which  have  resulted  in  the 
construction  of  machines  far  superior  to  the  origi- 
nal America. 

Now  that  the  war  operations  have  ceased,  the 
attention  of  the  aeronautic  world  has  again  turned 
to  the  transatlantic  flight.  It  is  known  that  the 
British  have  been  considering  this  project  for  some 
time  and  have  had  experts  studying  the  problem 
with  the  purpose  of  attempting  its  solution  upon  the 
conclusion  of  peace.  The  British  have  developed 
larger  airplanes  than  any  other  nation,  and  it  is 
believed  that  they  are  prepared  to  undertake  the 
first  transatlantic  flight.  As  it  seems  probable 
that  Great  Britain  will  make  every  effort  to  attain 
the  same  relative  standing  in  aerial  strength  as  she 
has  in  naval  strength,  the  prestige  that  she  would 
attain  by  successfully  carrying  out  the  first  trans- 
atlantic flight  would  be  of  great  assistance  to  her 
in  attaining  the  supremacy  desired  in  aviation 
matters. 

It  is  understood  that  France  and  Italy  have  also 
considered  this  project,  and  it  is  known  that  at  least 
four  independent  efforts  are  being  developed  by  pri- 
vate parties  in  this  country.  In  view  of  the  fact 
that  the  first  successful  airplane  was  produced  in 
this  country,  and  that  the  United  States  developed 
the  first  successful  seaplane,  it  would  seem  most  fit- 
ting that  the  first  transatlantic  flight  should  be  car- 
ried out  upon  the  initiative  of  the  United  States 
Navy.  The  accomplishment  of  this  feat  would  give 
to  the  organization  of  the  government  accomplish- 
ing it  a  considerable  amount  of  deserved  prestige. 

It  is  considered  most  desirable  in  every  way  that 


152        THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S 

this  flight  be  accomplished  in  craft  developed  by  the 
Navy  Department  and  flown  under  the  direction  of 
officers  ot  the  United  States  Navy.  The  facilities 
at  the  disposal  of  the  Navy  Department  are  such  as 
to  insure  the  proper  carrying  out  of  all  plans  so  essen- 
tial to  the  successful  accomplishment  of  a  project  of 
this  nature.  The  successful  accomplishment  of  this 
flight  by  the  Navy  will  have  an  important  effect  in 
stimulating  the  progress  of  commercial  aviation  en- 
deavour. It  will  have  the  effect  of  calling  up  for 
settlement  many  important  international  questions 
involving  aerial  matters. 

Routes 

In  view  of  the  limited  equipment  and  cruising 
radius  of  the  planes  available,  only  four  possible 
routes  are  considered,  as  follows: 

1.  United  States,  Newfoundland,  Greenland,  Ice- 
land, England. 

2.  United  States,  Newfoundland,  Ireland. 

3.  United  States,  Newfoundland,  Azores,  Portugal. 

4.  South  America  to  Africa. 

The  first  route  is  rejected  owing  to  unsettled 
weather  conditions  and  the  inability  to  predict  the 
conditions  in  these  areas,  the  difficulty  of  basing 
patrolling  forces,  and  the  lack  of  suitable  ports  of  call. 

The  second  route  offers  many  advantages  in  that 
it  will  be  a  non-stop  route  across  the  Northern  Atlan- 
tic, which  is  the  real  problem  involved;  but  in  view 
of  the  fact  that  it  necessitates  an  over-sea  flight  of 
1,675  nautical  miles  (great  circle  distance  from  Cape 
Broyle  Harbour  to  Bantry  Bay)  it  is  not  considered 
practicable  to  cover  this  distance  with  the  planes 
available  without  refuelling  at  sea.  This  would  intro- 
duce many  complications  which  would  render  it 
unwise  to  adopt  this  route,  unless  developments  in 
seaplanes  permit  an  extension  of  cruising  radius. 


THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S        153 


The  third  route  offers  the  easiest  solution,  as  its 
distances  are  shorter,  areas  of  uncertain  weather  con- 
ditions least,  it  lends  itself  admirably  to  basing  pa- 
trols, and  is  well  within  the  zone  in  which  the  weather 
bureaus  can  make  accurate  predictions. 


The  fourth  route  is  rejected  on  account  of  the  in- 
accessibility of  the  point  of  departure. 

Facilities 

There  are  available  under  the  Navy  Department 
several  seaplanes  capable  of  carrying  sufficient  fuel 
and  equipment  and  with  engines  of  sufficient  reliability 
to  offer  excellent  chances  of  success  on  the  Azores 
route.  The  planes  available  at  this  time  are  the 
N.C.  1  type  and  the  F-6-L  type. 

The  N.C,  1  is  the  largest  seaplane  developed  by  the 
Navy,  and  is  equipped  with  three  Liberty  engines  and 
has  an  estimated  cruising  radius  of  more  than  1,400 
miles.  Its  wing  span  from  tip  to  tip  is  126  feet,  and 


154        THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S 

its  over  all  length  68  feet  SJ  inches.  This  plane  re- 
cently made  a  flight  with  fifty-one  men  aboard.  It 
is  designed  to  carry  a  crew  of  six  men,  and  has  a  speed 
of  80  miles  per  hour. 

The  F-6-L  is  a  twin  engine  (Liberty)  flying  boat, 
103  feet  9i  inches  span,  49  feet  3J-J  inches  length, 
with  an  estimated  cruising  radius  of  more  than  1,350 
miles.  It  is  designed  to  carry  a  crew  of  four  men 
and  has  a  speed  of  87  miles  per  hour. 

The  cruising  radius  of  each  of  these  types  can  be 
improved  by  stripping  them  of  all  unnecessary  gear 
and  increasing  the  fuel  supply. 

Patrol 

By  the  establishment  of  a  proper  patrol  of  the 
course,  the  danger  to  personnel  can  be  practically 
eliminated.  For  this  purpose  there  would  be  re- 
quired a  number  of  destroyers,  in  order  that  they 
could  be  stationed  a  distance  of  about  100  miles 
apart  to  mark  the  course,  and  in  order  that  at  least 
one  of  them  may  be  within  helping  distance  in  the 
event  of  emergency. 

By  making  a  smoke  column  during  the  daytime 
and  using  searchlights  during  the  night,  these  patrols 
would  largely  overcome  the  difficulties  of  aerial 
navigation. 

Additional  Equipment 

In  addition  to  the  patrol  vessels,  mother  ships 
would  be  required  at  the  ports  of  call  in  order  to 
furnish  fuel,  spare  parts,  personnel,  etc.,  for  the 
planes.  The  assignment  of  mother  ships  for  this 
purpose  is  advantageous,  as  it  does  away  with  neces- 
sity for  elaborate  shore  establishments  at  ports  of  call. 

In  order  to  permit  of  repairs  upon  arrival  at  bases, 
seaplane  lighters  will  be  required,  unless  beaching 
facilities  are  available. 


THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S        155 

Weather   Conditions 

From  a  study  of  weather  conditions  prevailing 
over  the  North  Atlantic  during  the  various  months 
of  the  year,  and  after  a  discussion  of  the  project  with 
officials  of  the  Hydrographic  Office  and  the  Weather 
Bureau,  it  appears  that  the  only  suitable  months  for 
this  flight  are  from  April  to  September,  inclusive. 
In  view  of  the  desirability  of  being  ready  to  make  this 
flight  as  soon  as  conditions  are  favourable,  and  in  order 
to  forestall  independent  projects  of  this  nature,  it  is 
believed  that  plans  should  be  made  to  start  the  flight 
about  May  1st.  Officials  of  the  Weather  Bureau 
believe  that  with  the  assistance  of  the  patrol  vessels 
and  with  the  observations  available  from  their  own 
stations,  it  will  be  practicable  to  make  very  accurate 
predictions  regarding  weather  and  winds. 

General 

By  installing  four  K-12  engines  in  an  N.C.  1  type 
of  seaplane,  a  computed  radius  of  action  of  2,100 
miles  can  be  obtained. 

These  engines  are  built  by  the  Curtiss  Company, 
but  up  to  this  date  have  not  passed  a  sufficient  test 
to  insure  their  reliability  in  a  project  of  this  nature. 
It  is  believed  that  these  engines  could  be  developed 
satisfactorily  if  proper  action  were  taken.  The  suc- 
cessful development  of  engines  for  this  equipment 
of  tried  reliability  would  make  it  practicable  to 
attempt  the  direct  flight  from  Newfoundland  to 
Ireland,  with  excellent  chances  of  success. 

Geared  Liberty  engines  would  give  a  much  better 
performance  in  both  types  of  planes  and  largely  in- 
crease their  radii.  Proper  development,  however, 
has  not  been  carried  out  on  the  geared  Liberty  motor, 
and  its  reliability  for  this  purpose  is  not  assured. 

The  distances  involved  are  as  follows: 


156        THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S 

Rockaway  to  Halifax    .      .      .        540  nautical  miles 

Halifax  to  Cape  Broyle  Har- 
bour, Newfoundland  .  .  485  nautical  miles 

Cape  Broyle  Harbour  to  St. 

Miguel,  Azores  .  .  1,320  nautical  miles 

St.  Miguel  to  Lisbon,  Por- 
tugal   780  nautical  miles 

Cape  Broyle  Harbour  to  Ban- 
try  Bay,  Ireland  .  .  .  1,675  nautical  miles 

Recommendations 

The  following  definite  recommendations  are  sub- 
mitted: 

(a)  That  the  transatlantic  flight  be  undertaken  by 

the  Navy  Department. 

(b)  That  full  preparations  be  made  as  soon  as  prac- 

ticable, in  order  that  the  flight  may  begin 
about  May  1,  1919. 

(c)  That  the  route  chosen  be  from  Newfoundland 

to  Portugal,  via  Azores. 

(d)  That  the  detachment  making  the  flight  consist 

of  four  of  the  best  seaplanes  available. 

(e)  That  a  line  officer  of  the  Navy  be  detailed  to 

command  this  expedition.  That  this  of- 
ficer, under  the  direction  of  the  officer  in 
charge  of  Aviation  Operations,  be  author- 
ized to  select  the  personnel  for  this 
expedition,  collect  all  data,  assemble  all 
material,  direct  experiments,  and  carry 
the  entire  project  to  completion. 

(f)  That  immediate  action  be  taken  to  obtain  reli- 

able data  from  actual  performances  of  the 
types  of  planes  selected  for  this  flight,  in 
order  that  accurate  information  may  be 
available  upon  which  to  base  the  plans  of 
operation. 

(g)  That  the    cooperation    of    the   Commander-in- 

Chief  of  the  Fleet  and  all  bureaus  con- 


THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S        157 

cerned  be  directed  in  the  expedition  and 
completion  of  this  project. 

(h)  That  intensive  experimental  development  work 
be  carried  out  immediately  with  K-12  en- 
gines and  the  geared  Liberty  engines,  in 
order  that  information  may  be  available  re- 
garding the  reliability  of  these  machines. 

(i)  That  if  the  results  of  these  developments  demon- 
strate the  practicability  of  equipping 
naval  seaplanes  with  engines  of  great 
reliability  sufficient  to  give  them  largely 
increased  radius  of  action,  the  possibility 
of  making  a  direct  flight  from  Newfound- 
land to  Ireland  be  further  considered. 

(j)  In  view  of  the  fact  that  the  only  logical  point  for 
the  beginning  of  the  flight  is  a  port  of  New- 
foundland, which  is  a  British  Colonial 
port,  and  in  view  of  the  possibility  that 
Great  Britain  contemplates  an  expedition 
of  this  nature  at  about  the  date  recom- 
mended above,  an  awkward  situation  may 
result  from  the  independent  preparations 
being  carried  out  by  the  two  countries 
at  the  same  port.  In  order  to  avoid  any 
complications  of  this  nature,  and  also  in 
view  of  the  fact  that  the  United  States  and 
Great  Britain  have  cooperated  to  a  great 
extent  in  the  development  of  the  latest 
types  of  seaplanes,  which  has  made  this 
project  practicable,  it  is  recommended 
that  information  regarding  the  proposed 
flight  be  furnished  the  proper  British  author- 
ities, and  it  be  suggested  to  them  that  if 
they  contemplate  an  expedition  of  this 
nature,  arrangements  be  made  to  start 
both  expeditions  simultaneously,  in  order 
that  the  patrols  and  other  facilities  may 
be  utilized  conjointly. 


158        THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S 

(k)  In  view  of  the  important  role  being  taken  by  the 
United  States  in  international  affairs,  and 
of  the  necessity  of  avoiding  any  possibility 
of  giving  offence  to  any  of  the  great  na- 
tions with  which  we  are  associated,  atten- 
tion is  invited  to  the  desirability  of  sup- 
plying information  in  regard  to  this  flight 
to  governments  of  France  and  Italy  also, 
in  order  that  both  or  either  of  these  coun- 
tries may  have  planes  to  participate  if 
desired.  It  is  believed  that  the  prestige 
obtained  by  the  United  States  Navy  in 
thus  initiating  and  making  possible  a  great 
international  flight  of  this  nature  will 
equal  or  exceed  that  obtained  by  attempt- 
ing the  flight  alone  and  all  chance  of  inter- 
national jealousies  will  be  avoided. 
/s/  J.  T.  TOMPKINS, 

Captain,  U.S.N. 
/s/      J.  H.  TOWERS, 

Comdr.,  U.S.N. 
/s/      G.  D.  C.  CHEVALIER, 

Lt.  Comdr.,  U.S.N. 

1st  Endorsement 

From:  Chief  of  Naval  Operations, 
To:  Secretary  of  the  Navy. 
1.  Forwarded,  approval  recommended. 

/S/         J.  L.  McKEAN, 

Acting. 

NAVY   DEPARTMENT 

1.  Approved. 

2.  Commander-in-Chief    of    the    Fleet    and    the 
Bureaus  of  the  Navy  Department  are  authorized 
and  directed  to  take  such  action  as  may  be  necessary 
to  carry  out  the  provisions  of  this  plan  for  a  trans- 
atlantic flight.  /s/      JOSEPHUS  DANIELS. 


THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S        159 

The  injunction  to  secrecy  contained  in  these  papers 
was  not  observed.  This  was  due  to  a  peculiar  little 
slip  in  one  of  the  cogs  of  the  Navy  Department  ma- 
chinery. Although  during  the  war  secrecy  had  been 
maintained  regarding  all  orders  to  officers,  this  policy 
had  recently  been  reversed,  and  the  before- war  policy 
of  allowing  the  newspapers  to  publish  summaries 
of  these  orders  had  been  reestablished.  When 
Commander  Towers  was  given  duty  in  connection 
with  the  preparation  for  this  flight,  immediately 
upon  the  approval  by  the  Secretary  of  the  project, 
the  issuance  of  his  orders  in  secret  was  overlooked. 
Even  a  newspaper  reporter  knows  when  something 
falls  on  him.  Orders  for  duty,  "in  connection  with 
preparations  for  transatlantic  flight,"  had  some 
significance.  They  flocked  to  the  Secretary's  office: 
the  cat  was  already  out,  concealment  was  impossible, 
and  the  Secretary  told  them  the  whole  story. 

On  February  17th,  Admiral  Taylor,  in  the  letter 
quoted,  directed  the  completion  of  the  N.C.  boats 
for  the  specific  purpose  of  the  earliest  practicable 
transatlantic  flight. 

NAVY  DEPARTMENT 

BUREAU     OF     CONSTRUCTION     AND     REPAIR, 
WASHINGTON,   D.C. 

February  17,  1919. 
O-Z-4  (A) 

To:   Commander   G.   C.   Westervelt,   Construction 

Corps,  U.  S.  N. 
Subject:  Transatlantic  Flight. 
Enclosures  (herewith): 

(A)  Copy  of  letter  from  Chief  of  Naval  Operations 


160        THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S 

dated  February  4, 1919,  No.  Op-Air:  068-A-25 
with  its  enclosures. 

1.  Your  attention  is  invited  to  enclosure  (A),  out- 
lining  a   proposed    transatlantic    flight    which  has 
'been  approved  by  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy. 

2.  The  present  intention  is  to  use  the  N.C.I  type 
of  flying  boat  for  these  flights.     It  is  probable  that  a 
number  of  experimental  changes   will  have  to  be 
made  in  the  N.C.I  boats  already  produced  and  in 
those  now  coming  through  production  before  the 
most  satisfactory  installation  for  making  the  trans- 
atlantic trip  can  be  determined.     The  limited  time 
remaining  before  the  flight  should  be  started  makes 
it   imperative   that    the    heartiest    cooperation    of 
Bureau  representatives  and  all  others  concerned  be 
obtained,  in  order  that  the  flight  may  be  a  success 
and  reflect  honour  and  credit  to  the  Navy.     The 
Bureau  expects  and  requires  this  cooperation  from  its 
representatives. 

3.  At  the  request  of  the  Director  of  Naval  Avia- 
tion, the  Bureau  is  requesting  orders  for  Commander 
H.  C.  Richardson,  Construction  Corps,  U.S.N.,  de- 
taching him  from  his  present  duties  and  ordering  him 
to  report  to  the  Chief  of  Naval  Operations,  Wash- 
ington, D.  C.,  for  further  assignment  in  connection 
with    the    proposed     transatlantic     flight.     While 
on  this  assignment  Commander  Richardson  will  be 
detached  from  the  technical  duty  he  has  been  per- 
forming under  this  Bureau. 

4.  Anticipating  that  a  number  of  changes  must 
necessarily  be  made,  and  that  considerable  pressure 
must  be  exerted  on  the  contractors  to  have  the  work 
on  the  N.C.I  boats  expedited,  the  Bureau  hereby 
designates  you  as  its  official  representative  in  New 
York  and  other  points  outside  of   Washington   to 
handle  matters  concerning  this  project  coming  under 
cognizance  of  this  Bureau. 

5.  You  are  empowered  to  make  changes  in  the 


THE  TRIUMPH  OP  THE  N.C'S        161 

N.C.I  boats,  or  to  authorize  trials  to  be  conducted, 
reporting  to  the  Bureau  what  changes  have  been 
made  and  the  results  of  trials.  The  Bureau  wishes 
to  make  it  plain  that  no  changes  under  its  cognizance 
are  to  be  made  on  N.C.I  boats,  unless  the  change  is 
authorized  by  the  Bureau  or  by  yourself  acting  for 
the  Bureau. 

6.  The  Bureau  should  be  kept  fully  informed  by 
weekly  reports,  in  triplicate,  of  the  status  of  work  and 
trials  of  the  N.C.I  boats,  with  particular  reference 
to  their  being  prepared  for  the  transatlantic  project. 

7.  It  is  understood  that  the  Bureau  of  Steam  En- 
gineering desires  to  have  collected  considerable  data 
on  various  power  plant  installations.     This  data  will 
necessitate  a  number  of  trial  runs  before  the  boats 
are    finally    accepted    from    the    contractor.     The 
Bureau  desires  that  the  wishes  of  the  Bureau  of 
Steam  Engineering  in  this  matter  should  govern, 
and  that  the  trials  and  collection  of  this  data  be 
expedited  in  every  possible  way. 

/s/      D.  W.  TAYLOR. 

Very  great  amounts  of  work  remained  to  be  done  in 
completing  these  craft.  They  had  been  greatly  ad- 
vanced since  work  under  pressure  had  been  resumed 
on  them,  but  there  was  much  to  do.  The  N.C.2  had 
been  completed  and  flown,  and,  as  anticipated,  the 
engine  arrangement  gave  much  advantage  over  that 
in  the  N.C.I.  The  Three  and  the  Four  were  far  from 
completion.  If  we  could  be  certain  of  anything  it 
was  that  much  unexpected  work  would  develop 
and  that  many  unanticipated  changes  would  be 
made.  Immediate  steps  were  taken,  accordingly, 
to  secure  permission  for  overtime  work,  as  it  was  cer- 
tain that  the  date  on  which  we  hoped  to  have  every- 
thing ready,  May  1st,  could  not  be  met  on  any  other 


162        THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S 

basis.  From  the  date  this  permission  was  secured 
until  the  boats  left  Rockaway  Beach  on  their  flight, 
work  never  stopped  before  midnight,  except,  occa- 
sionally, on  Sunday.  The  men  of  the  Curtiss  Engin- 
eering Corporation,  who  had  a  tremendous  interest  in 
the  project^  and  a  determination  to  see  America  first 
across,  and  who  stuck  to  the  job  under  most  wearing 
conditions;  and  the  men  of  the  Navy,  of  the  Bureaus 
of  Steam  Engineering  and  Construction  and  Repair, 
who  spent  the  long  hours  with  them,  in  order  that 
difficulties  when  met  might  be  immediately  sur- 
mounted, will  always  have  the  satisfaction  of  having 
"finished  in  time"! 

In  changes  and  improvements  on  the  N.C.I  much 
weight  had  been  added,  and  it  was  found,  when  ac- 
curate determination  of  gasoline  consumption  was 
made,  that  her  flight  radius  was  insufficient  for  a  non- 
stop flight  from  Newfoundland  to  the  Azores.  It 
had  also  been  found  that  the  boat  hull  was  much 
more  efficient  than  we  had  anticipated,  and  we  de- 
cided that  an  increase  in  engine  power  would  increase 
the  lifting  capacity  of  the  seaplane  and  the  radius 
of  action. 

This  we  determined  immediately  to  try  in  two 
ways.  On  the  N.C.I,  engines  with  high-compression 
pistons  were  substituted  for  those  of  low  compres- 
sion— resulting  in  increased  horsepower  to  the  ex- 
tent of  at  least  125,  and  in  an  increase  in  weight-lift- 
ing ability  of  about  2,000  pounds.  Experiments  with 
propellers  had  also  made  available  a  more  efficient 
propeller,  and  radius  of  flight  was  so  increased  that  a 
non-stop  flight  to  the  Azores  was  practicable. 


THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S        163 

The  second  method  to  be  tried  was  the  installation 
of  an  additional  engine  in  the  N.C.8.  In  order  to 
make  this  installation  as  quickly  as  possible,  and 
without  disturbing  other  arrangements,  these  engines 
were  placed  in  the  wings  in  two  tandem  sets,  an  ar- 
rangement the  accompanying  photograph  will  make 
quite  clear.  Our  estimates  indicated  that  this  fourth 
engine  would  raise  the  flying  weight  of  these  boats 
to  about  28,500  pounds,  and  the  radius  of  flight  to 
1,550  or  1,600  miles. 

It  soon  became  evident  that  we  could  not  make  the 
installation  of  a  fourth  engine  in  the  other  boats  wait 
the  trials  of  the  N.C.2.  We  must  decide  without 
such  trials  whether  or  not  to  equip  all  boats  in  this 
way.  At  a  conference  in  Washington  this — with 
other  radical  and  extensive  changes,  the  greatest 
of  which  was  removing  the  pilots  from  the  centre 
nacelle  to  the  boat  hull — was  decided  upon.  As 
the  engine  arrangement,  however,  we  decided  upon 
single  wing  engines  and  two  central  engines  in  tan- 
dem. This  arrangement  has  a  great  advantage  over 
a  three-engine  arrangement  because  of  the  fact  that 
immediately  after  getting  into  the  air  flight  can 
be  continued  on  three  engines,  if  necessary,  whereas 
with  three  engines  only,  the  boat  would  not  for 
several  hours  be  sufficiently  lightened,  due  to  gasoline 
consumption,  for  flight  with  two  engines. 

Gasoline  tankage  was  increased  from  six  200-gal- 
lon  tanks  to  nine;  wireless  telegraph  and  telephone 
apparatus  and  wireless  direction-finders  were  pro- 
vided and  installed;  many  items  of  special  applica- 
tion to  the  flight  only  were  introduced. 


164        THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S 

Our  difficulties  were  many.  As  always  in  air- 
craft work,  as  has  been  mentioned  previously,  every- 
thing hindered,  nothing  helped.  Late  in  March  the 
N.C.I,  at  anchor  in  the  bay,  was  driven  ashore  by  a 
violent  gale  which  buffeted  her  for  three  days.  The 
wings  on  one  side  were  practically  destroyed.  We 
had  no  spare  ones;  the  time  was  insufficient  for  their 
construction;  and  our  hope  that  we  could  start  the 
flight  with  four  boats  was  dashed.  In  this  lay  the 
doom  of  the  N.C.2.  It  was  decreed  that  she  should 
lose  her  wings  for  the  N.C.I. 

Except  for  delays,  which  always  result  in  aircraft 
construction,  and  for  the  injury  to  the  N.C.I  by  the 
storm,  and  to  the  N.C.I  and  the  N.C. 4  by  fire,  as 
will  be  described  in  a  later  chapter,  the  N.C.  boats 
have  been  remarkably  lucky.  Under  the  press  of 
insufficient  time,  when  they  were  being  completed 
for  the  transatlantic  flight,  it  was  necessary  to  in- 
corporate important  features  on  very  scanty  con- 
sideration. We  had  grown,  however,  to  consider 
these  boats  lucky  and  took  some  very  long  chances. 
The  engine  arrangement  is  a  case  in  point.  This 
engine  arrangement  is  absolutely  unique  and  has 
never  before  been  employed  on  a  flying  boat.  Its 
details  were  worked  out  in  a  few  days,  and  it  was  then 
installed.  If  it  had  proven  unsatisfactory,  or  its 
details  had  not  been  effective,  serious  delay  imperil- 
ling the  whole  project  would  have  been  occasioned. 
This  chance  had  to  be  taken,  and  the  luck  of  the  N.C. 
boats  held.  Except  for  one  or  two  changes  of  a 
minor  nature  this  difficult  installation,  worked  out 
in  such  a  short  time,  and  with  no  possibility  of  having 


THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S        165 

sufficient  time  for  thoroughly  testing  it,  was  all  that 
could  be  desired. 

In  all  of  the  flights  of  the  N.C.  boats,  no  crashes 
were  experienced,  no  lives  were  lost,  and  only  one 
man  was  seriously  injured.  Here  again  luck  played 
an  important  part.  In  February,  the  N.C.1,  while 
on  the  handling  platform,  was  very  seriously  buffeted 
by  a  furious  gale  which  eventually  tore  the  control 
column  loose,  due  to  the  flapping  of  the  control  sur- 
faces, and  injured  the  plane  itself  in  a  minor  degree. 
This  occurrence  uncovered  the  fact  that  the  principal 
bearings  of  the  double  control  yoke,  which  were  sup- 
posed to  be  one  and  one  half  inches  in  length,  were, 
in  reality,  due  to  a  series  of  remarkable  mischances 
of  manufacture  and  inspection,  only  one  eighth  inch 
in  length.  They  had  projected  into  metal  plates  to 
this  depth  instead  of  to  the  depth  of  one  and  one  half 
inches  as  was  intended,  and  upon  this  frail  support 
had  depended  the  safety  of  the  N.C.I  on  the  flights 
it  had  made  up  to  this  time.  It  may  well  be  imag- 
ined how  great  would  have  been  the  catastrophe  if 
these  insufficient  supports  had  failed  when  fifty-one 
persons  were  on  board.  The  storm  which  tore  them 
loose  and  exhibited  them  to  the  gaze  of  the  world, 
with  no  damage  other  than  the  few  slight  injuries  to 
the  plane  itself,  was  good  luck  of  the  first  order. 

On  another  occasion  the  N.C.2,  this  time  with 
thirty  persons  on  board,  was  skimming  along  the 
water  just  on  the  point  of  taking  to  the  air.  From 
an  altitude  of  1,500  feet  a  smaller  flying  boat 
from  the  Air  Station  was  practising  the  dropping 
of  220-pound  depth  charges  against  a  target  anchored 


166        THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S 

in  the  bay.  As  the  N.C.2  with  its  freight  of  humans 
passed  this  target,  the  bomb  dropper  of  the  other 
boat  let  fall  a  depth  charge  which  struck  the  water 
within  less  than  150  feet  of  the  N.C.2  and  very 
severely  shook  up  everyone  on  board,  though  without 
doing  them  any  actual  injury.  If  this  depth  charge 
had  fallen  25  to  50  feet  nearer,  it  would  almost  cer- 
tainly have  destroyed  the  plane  and  would  have 
caused  the  loss  of  a  considerable  number  of  the  men 
on  board.  This  occurrence  was  due,  of  course,  to 
the  carelessness  of  the  bomb  dropper,  but  good  luck 
was  with  the  N.C.2  in  her  successful  passage  through 
the  ordeal.  From  descriptions  of  the  flights  across 
the  ocean  made  by  the  N.C.1,  N.C.S,  and  N.C4, 
will  be  realized  the  fact  that  the  good  luck  which  had 
attended  these  boats  to  such  an  extent  was  still  with 
them.  It  may  appear  that  the  Goddess  was  nodding 
when  they  ran  into  fog  and  rain,  but  the  experiences 
of  the  N.C.1  and  the  N.C.S  after  landing,  the  happy 
outcome  so  far  as  the  crews  were  concerned,  will  prove 
that  she  awoke  in  time  and  again  took  charge  of  the 
circumstances. 

The  things  we  had  expected  to  do,  the  changes  we 
had  contemplated  making,  were  few  in  number  com- 
pared to  those  we  did  do  and  did  make.  From  the 
directors  of  the  flight  operations  came  innumerable 
requests,  all  of  them  entirely  reasonable,  for  items  no 
one  had  contemplated  before.  Captain  Hall  of  the 
Coast  Guard,  who  had  charge  of  work  for  the  Bureau 
of  Steam  Engineering,  and  I  had  most  of  them  in- 
corporated and,  of  course,  paid  the  penalty  in  being 
unable  to  complete  the  "Nancies"  by  May  the  first. 


©  Topical  Press  Agency,  London 

THE  CREW  OF  THE  N.C.  4 

Photograph  taken  immediately  after  their  arrival  in  Plymouth  while 
they  are  still  in  their  flying  clothes.  Commander  Read  stands  in  front; 
behind,  from  left  to  right,  are  Lieut.  J.  L.  Breese  (reserve  pilot  engineer), 
Lieut.  Walter  Hinton  (Pilot),  Ensign  Charles  Rodd  (Radio  Operator), 
Lieut,  E.  F.  Stone  (Pilot),  and  Chief  Special  Mechanic,  E.  C.  Rhodes 


©  International  Film  Service 

THE  CREW  OF  THE  N.C.  1 

From  left  to  right  they  are  Lieut.-Commander  Bellinger,  M.  A.  Mitscher 
and  L.  F.  Barin  (Pilots),  Lieut.  H.  Sadenwater  (Radio  Operator),  Chief 
Machinist  Engineer  C.  I.  Kessler,  and  Reserve  Pilot  Engineer  R.  Christensen 


THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S        167 

Some  time  previously  to  that  date,  however,  we  had 
been  compelled  to  report  that  as  the  details  required  of 
us  were  so  much  more  numerous  than  we  had  contem- 
plated when  our  original  date  was  set  that  we  would 
need  an  extra  week.  Actually  the  boats  were  com- 
pleted on  May  the  3rd,  and  on  that  day  the  N.C.I, 
the  last  to  be  completed,  was  turned  over  to  Com- 
mander Towers.  If  some  "Jinks"  a  night  or  two 
later  had  not  tried  to  burn  the  One  and  the  Four,  our 
labours  would  have  ended  then. 

With  the  delivery  of  the  boats  to  the  flyers,  the 
story  of  the  design  and  building  of  the  N.C.  boats 
comes  to  an  end.  What  happened  then  and  after- 
ward let  Commanders  Read  and  Richardson  relate. 


PART  II 
THE  LAME  DUCK  WINS 

BY 

LIEUTENANT-COMMANDER  A.  C.  READ 


CHAPTER  I 

THE  PRELIMINARIES 

f  •  AHE  work  of  preparation  for  the  Navy's  at- 
tempt at  a  transatlantic  flight  can  be  divided 

JL  into  two  parts — first,  the  preparation  of  the 
seaplanes  themselves,  and,  second,  the  preparation 
of  plans  for  conducting  the  actual  flight.  The  first 
of  these  tasks  has  been  described  at  considerable 
length,  and  the  description  conveys  some  idea  of  the 
immense  number  of  details  that  had  to  be  worked  out, 
the  numerous  tests  that  had  to  be  conducted,  and  the 
many  troublesome  features  that  had  to  be  corrected. 
The  result  was  a  type  of  seaplane  that  embodied  the 
best  characteristics  of  smaller  flying  boats  and  one 
that  filled  the  crews  with  confidence  that  they  would 
be  able  with  ordinary  luck  to  cross  the  ocean  safely. 

We  can  take  up  now  the  second  proposition,  that 
of  the  preparation  of  plans  for  conducting  the  flight. 
These  plans  were  made  with  a  view  to  providing 
every  practicable  means  of  enabling  the  planes  to 
keep  their  course  and  of  aiding  them  in  case  of  a 
forced  landing  at  sea.  This  was  to  be  no  "do-or- 
die"  effort.  Though  there  must  be,  in  a  project  of 
this  kind,  some  doubt  about  the  "doing,"  no  one 
considered  the  "dying"  as  more  than  a  very  remote 
possibility — any  more  than  there  would  be  in  a  flight 
from  Chicago  to  New  York. 

171 


172        THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S 

The  plans  were  so  complete  and  so  carefujly  laid 
that  all  of  us  were  sure  that  we  would  be  well  looked 
out  for  in  case  of  misfortune.  In  the  first  place,  the 
choice  of  routes — Newfoundland  to  the  Azores  and  to 
Lisbon,  Portugal — was  made  because  it  appeared  to 
be  easiest  of  accomplishment,  and  therefore  safest. 
The  Newfoundland-Ireland  route  could  not  be  fol- 
lowed, taking  into  consideration  the  fuel  capacity 
of  the  N.C's,  without  favourable  winds.  The  route 
chosen  could  be. 

Another  route  proposed  was  that  from  Rockaway 
to  a  point  at  sea  at  the  limit  of  the  flying  radius;  re- 
fuelling there  from  a  ship  and  then  continuing  on  to 
the  Azores  and  Lisbon.  There  were  several  argu- 
ments against  this  route;  doubt  was  expressed  as  to 
the  practicability  of  replenishing  gasoline  and  oil  at 
sea  except  under  ideal  conditions,  and  the  point  was 
made  that  the  longest  leg  would  be  started  first, 
while  to  jump  off  from  Newfoundland  would  allow 
an  opportunity  to  eliminate  defects  that  might  show 
up  on  the  comparatively  short  "hops"  from  Rocka- 
way to  Halifax  and  from  Halifax  to  Newfoundland. 
The  northern  route,  via  Greenland,  Iceland,  and 
Ireland,  was  not  considered  very  seriously,  because 
it  is  practicable  for  only  a  short  period  in  the  year. 

Three  classes  of  ships  were  used:  "Base  ships," 
to  be  at  the  different  stopping  places,  in  order  to  pro- 
vide temporary  quarters  for  the  crews,  to  provide 
extra  aviation  mechanics,  to  assist  in  any  repair  work 
found  necessary,  and  to  carry  gasoline,  oil,  and  nu- 
merous tools,  spare  parts,  and  supplies  that  might  pos- 
sibly be  needed;  "patrol"  or  "escort"  vessels  (de- 


THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S        173 

stroyers)  to  be  stationed  at  intervals  of  fifty  miles 
along  the  course,  to  aid  the  seaplanes  in  keeping 
track  of  their  positions  and  to  render  assistance  if 
necessary;  and  "meteorological"  ships  (battleships, 
five  in  number)  equipped  with  powerful  radio  out- 
fits and  stationed  at  points  about  four  hundred  miles 
off  the  track  to  take  and  report  weather  observations 
in  order  to  assist  the  official  weather  prophets  in  tell- 
ing us  what  to  expect,  especially  in  regard  to  the 
wind. 

A  great  amount  of  detail  work  was  entailed  in 
getting  all  the  odds  and  ends  of  special  equipment  and 
supplies  together,  in  distributing  them  to  the  various 
ships  and,  in  some  cases,  in  fitting  the  ships  so  that 
they  could  take  the  materials.  For  this  some  of  them 
had  to  go  to  a  navy  yard.  Two  small  flying  boats 
were  sent  on  the  Newfoundland  base  ship,  Aroostook, 
in  order  to  give  the  pilots  a  bird's-eye  view  of  the  rather 
restricted  area  in  which  the  getaway  would  have  to 
be  made  and  to  try  the  air  while  making  the  same 
course  that  would  be  used  later  in  starting  off  the  big 
fellows. 

This  was  a  comparatively  small  matter,  but  navy 
yard  work  was  necessary  before  the  planes  could  be 
received  on  deck,  for  although  they  are  "small" 
when  compared  with  the  N.C's,  they  were  "big" 
when  resting  on  the  Aroostook's  narrow  deck,  and 
are  most  unwieldy  to  handle. 

Besides  the  strictly  aviation  spare  parts  and  sup- 
plies furnished  the  "base  ships,"  all  of  the  68  de- 
stroyers used  in  connection  with  the  flight  had  to  be 
supplied  with  special  apparatus  for  day  and  night 


174       THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S 

signalling  and  with  special  radio  apparatus  for  pur- 
poses of  communication  to  and  from  the  planes. 

Each  destroyer  that  might  be  in  the  "night  zone" 
of  the  Newfoundland-Azores  leg  was  given  star-shells 
to  fire  in  its  anti-aircraft  guns .  With  the  help  of  these 
shells,  which  are  designed  to  be  fired  high  in  the  air 
and  then  explode  and  ignite  a  parachute  light  of  ap- 
proximately 800,000  candle  power,  and  with  search- 
lights, it  was  believed  that  the  planes  would  be  able 
to  pick  up  the  ships  at  night  with  little  difficulty  un- 
less the  weather  was  thick.  Then  each  meteorolog- 
ical ship  (including  every  fourth  destroyer)  required 
a  special  outfit  for  obtaining  detailed  information 
necessary  for  the  weather  men  to  form  their  estimates 
of  the  situation. 

In  order  that  the  "air"  navigator  could  obtain 
the  best  information  as  to  his  progress  and  his  posi- 
tion at  any  time,  he  was  furnished  not  only  with  a 
compass  and  the  greater  part  of  the  equipment  of  a 
"sea"  navigator,  such  as  chronometers,  sextants, 
charts,  etc.,  but  with  other  special  devices — for  ex- 
ample, drift  indicators  to  obtain  the  effects  of  the 
wind  on  the  course  being  steered  and  on  the  speed; 
ground  flares  to  drop  into  the  water,  which  gave  off 
a  bright  flame  for  night  work  or  a  heavy  smoke  for 
day  work,  in  order  to  furnish  a  stationary  point  to 
sight  on  in  using  the  drift  indicators;  and,  finally, 
special  short  methods  of  working  out  positions  by 
observations  of  the  sun  and  stars. 

In  taking  these  observations  it  is  necessary  to  ob- 
tain the  vertical  angle  between  the  horizon  and  the 
heavenly  body  observed — easy  on  a  ship  in  ordinary 


THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S        175 

weather,  but  quite  another  matter  from  a  seaplane, 
a&  the  horizon  at  an  altitude  of  only  a  few  hundred 
feet  disappears  entirely,  lost  in  the  haze.  Therefore, 
our  sextants  were  fitted  with  "bubble  levels"  and 
then  they  furnished  their  own  horizon.  It  took 
many  weeks  before  a  satisfactory  "bubble"  was  ob- 
tained which  would  give  accurate  results . 

Two  radio  sets  were  carried,  one  good  only  for 
short-distance  work  when  on  the  water  or  when  flying 
very  low,  and  the  other  for  longer  distances,  up  to 
two  or  three  hundred  miles.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  it 
was  found  that  this  set  was  able  to  work  at  much 
longer  distances,  as  will  be  described  later.  The 
"short-distance"  set  obtained  its  power  from  a  stor- 
age battery  carried  in  the  hull  and  had  a  fixed  an- 
tenna strung  along  the  upper  wings.  The  power 
for  the  "long-distance"  set  came  from  a  small 
"streamline"  generator  clamped  to  one  of  the  wing 
struts  and  fitted  with  a  small  propeller .  This  pro- 
peller was  kept  turning  by  the  rush  of  air  caused  by 
the  onward  speed  of  the  seaplane,  in  a  manner  similar 
to  a  windmill.  The  antenna  was  a  wire  two  hundred 
and  fifty  feet  long  with  a  weight  on  the  end;  this  wire 
was  wound  on  a  reel  mounted  in  the  after  cockpit 
and  was  let  out  to  trail  astern  only  when  suffi- 
cient altitude  was  attained  to  insure  its  not  touching 
the  water.  The  shutting  off  of  the  motors  at 
the  commencement  of  a  glide  to  the  water  was 
necessarily  a  signal  to  the  radio  officer  to  "reel 
in,"  and  as  it  proved  later  on,  it  was  the  only  signal 
necessary. 

Besides  the  functions  of  the  "battery"  set,  that 


176        THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S 

is  to  say  the  sending  and  receiving  of  ordinary  radio 
messages,  telephoning  could  also  be  carried  on  be- 
tween the  planes,  as  this  set  used  the  "continuous 
wave."  Then  there  was  a  telephone  system  con- 
necting each  member  of  the  crew,  and  one  of  our 
radio  experts  had  the  bright  idea  of  switching  this 
system  on  with  the  interplane  radio  telephone,  so 
that  one  skipper  could  talk  directly  with  another 
skipper  in  another  plane  without  having  to  depend 
on  relaying  through  the  operators.  This  scheme  was 
found  to  be  of  not  much  practical  value,  however, 
during  the  flight,  owing  to  the  difficulty  of  shutting 
out  the  roar  of  the  motors  sufficiently  to  understand 
what  was  being  said.  I  did  use  it  very  successfully 
in  getting  the  time  "tick"  from  Arlington  for  deter- 
mining the  chronometer's  error;  there  was,  of  course, 
no  talking  involved  in  this. 

The  contingency  of  a  forced  landing  at  night  was 
considered.  Experiments  were  conducted,  and  flares 
to  be  set  off  by  pushing  a  button  on  the  pilot's  "dash- 
board "  were  mounted  under  the  bow  in  order  to  il- 
luminate the  surface  of  the  water  in  time  for  the 
pilot  to  "  level-off  "  and  effect  a  safe  landing.  The 
principal  fault  in  this  installation  was  the  fact  that 
the  dashboard  button  was  placed  in  such  a  prominent 
position  that  the  "  I-didn't-know-it-was-loaded"  type 
of  man  just  couldn't  resist  the  temptation  to  press 
it  to  see  if  anything  would  happen.  This  occurred 
several  times,  once  in  the  Azores  while  filling  up  with 
gasoline,  with  the  filling  hose  less  than  two  feet  over 
the  flares.  Fortunately  a  quick  use  of  fire  extin- 
guishers prevented  serious  trouble. 


THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S        177 

For  food,  coffee  in  vacuum  bottles  and  sandwiches 
were  provided,  and  in  addition  a  number  of  "emer- 
gency rations."  In  trying  the  latter  we  came  to  the 
unanimous  opinion  that,  while  they  undoubtedly 
had  the  theoretical  food  value  required,  with  the 
minimum  of  weight  and  space  (the  label  said  so), 
it  would  require  a  decided  emergency  before  the  con- 
tainers would  be  opened. 

Our  clothes  were  the  standard  Navy  one-piece 
leather  suits  worn  outside  of  anything  the  individual 
might  choose  to  wear.  One  officer  favoured  wearing 
two  of  these  suits,  on  the  theory  that  if  he  was  too 
warm  he  could  "shed, "  but  if  too  cold  he  would  only 
"shiver."  Most  of  us  wore  our  forestry  green  Naval 
Aviation  uniform  under  the  leather  suit  supple- 
mented with  as  much  underwear  as  each  thought 
desirable. 

Thus  far  I  have  touched  only  lightly  upon  the  gen- 
eral disposition  and  movements  of  the  assisting  ships. 
This  was  all  arranged  by  the  commander  of  the  de- 
stroyer force,  Admiral  Plunkett,  the  same  officer  who 
did  such  excellent  work  when  in  charge  of  the  Navy 
"railroad  guns"  on  the  western  front  in  France.  He 
sent  his  Chief  of  Staff,  Captain  Laning,  to  Washington 
to  arrange  the  details.  Captain  Laning  arrived,  ob- 
tained from  Commander  Towers  the  general  out- 
lines of  what  was  wanted,  rolled  up  his  sleeves,  and 
plunged  into  the  work  with  a  vim  that  set  the  pace 
for  the  rest  of  us. 

The  first  thing  he  did  was  to  give  us  twice  as  many 
destroyers  as  we  had  asked  for.  All  the  ships  con- 
nected with  the  transatlantic  flight  project,  of  what- 


178        THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S 

ever  type,  were  to  be  turned  over  temporarijy  to  the 
commander  of  the  destroyer  force.  It  was  therefore 
necessary  to  arrange  for  the  movements  of  all  of 
them.  Not  only  was  it  necessary  to  allot  each  ship 
to  its  particular  position,  but  dates  of  departure  of 
each  individual  ship  must  be  arranged  so  that  it 
should  arrive  in  its  position  in  plenty  of  time.  Ar- 
rangements had  to  be  made  for  refuelling  some  ships 
that  did  not  have  sufficient  steaming  radius  to  make 
their  stations  and  return,  and,  finally,  very  careful 
instructions  were  issued  to  cover  exactly  what  each 
ship  was  to  do  and  how  and  when. 

All  probable  contingencies  were  covered.  As  an 
example  of  this  there  is  quoted  below  a  few  para- 
graphs from  the  "operation  orders"  issued  to  all 
concerned : 

"When  a  station  ship  receives  a  report  that  a  plane 
has  passed  the  next  station  to  the  westward  it  will 
commence  'smoking'  in  daytime  and  continue  to 
'smoke'  until  the  last  plane  passes  or  is  accounted  for. 
[This  is  done  on  oil-burning  ships  simply  by  restrict- 
ing the  supply  of  air  admitted  to  the  boilers.]  At 
night  ships  will  'torch'  [a  brilliant  flame,  at  the  top 
of  the  smoke  pipes  made  by  improper  firing  of  boil- 
ers], 'and  searchlights  will  be  turned  on  at  once  and 
kept  on,  trained  directly  into  the  true  wind '  [knowl- 
edge of  the  direction  of  the  wind  at  night  is  of  great 
value  to  the  flyer]  until  planes  have  passed  or  been 
accounted  for. 

"In  case  of  mist  or  thick  weather  searchlights 
shall  sweep  the  heavens  in  a  vertical  plane  into  the 
true  wind  until  plane  reports  that  the  vessel  has  been 
sighted,  when  the  beam  will  be  steadied  level.  At 
night  ships  will  also  commence  to  fire  star-shells  from 


THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S        179 

3-inch  guns  at  five-minute  intervals  and  continue 
firing  until  plane  reports  sighting.  Star-shells  to  be 
fired  to  north  on  maximum  elevation  with  fuses  set 
for  five  seconds,  unless  plane  requests  otherwise. 

"Should  a  station  ship  be  'off  station'  during  the 
flight,  due  to  answering  an  S.O.S.  or  some  other  emer- 
gency, it  will  make  smoke  or  'torch'  and  fire  star- 
shells,  as  above  directed,  but  will  inform  planes  as 
directed  in  special  'communication  instruction,'  that 
ship  is  out  of  position. 

"When  an  S.O.S.  call  is  received  from  a  plane  the 
two  station  ships  nearest  the  indicated  position  of 
the  plane  shall  proceed  to  her  assistance  with  all  pos- 
sible speed,  unless  notified  otherwise.  Upon  arrival, 
if  repairs  are  possible,  lend  all  assistance.  If  repairs 
are  not  possible  group  S.O.P.  [senior  officer  present] 
shall  designate  one  destroyer  to  take  the  plane  in  tow 
and  proceed  to  the  nearest  port.  If  the  plane  is  too 
damaged  to  be  towed,  the  destroyer,  after  rescuing 
the  personnel,  shall  use  every  effort  to  salvage  the 
engines  and  equipment. 

"Utilize  destroyers  to  the  best  advantage  in  an 
S.O.S.  emergency.  If  an  S.O.S.  call  comes  at 
night  destroyers  will  keep  brilliantly  illuminated 
while  proceeding  to  the  plane,  will  'torch/  will  keep 
searchlight  sweeping  the  heavens,  and  will  keep  a 
bright  lookout  for  Very  signal,  the  colour  of  which  will 
indicate  the  character  of  the  forced  landing  and  the 
condition  of  the  plane.  [Very  signals  are  coloured 
stars  fired  from  a  special  pistol.  They  give  a  light 
somewhat  similar  to  those  given  off  by  Roman 
candles,  except  that  they  are  brighter  and  travel 
farther.] 

"If  while  off  station  for  any  purpose  a  destroyer 
sights  a  plane  in  the  air,  it  will  signal  the  duty  it  is 
on  and  if  requested  will  send  to  plane  the  true  bearing 
and  distance  from  the  destroyer's  then  position  to  the 
nearest  station,"  etc. 


180        THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S 

The  problem  of  getting  all  the  reports  through, 
especially  those  of  meteorological  observations,  was 
worked  out  to  the  minutest  detail.  Practically  all 
reports  were  by  radio;  and,  as  is  pretty  well  known 
in  these  modern  days,  only  a  very  few  messages  can 
be  sent  through  at  the  same  time  in  any  certain  area. 
To  do  even  this  requires  a  different  "tuning"  of  the 
radio  sets.  Therefore,  it  was  necessary  that  the  in- 
structions include  means  of  preventing  the  possibility 
of  one  ship  "outtalking"  another  ship  which  might 
have  an  important  message  to  deliver. 

Not  to  go  further  into  details,  it  took  seventeen 
pages  of  closely  written  official-size  paper  to  tell  the 
whole  story  of  "radio  communications"  instructions. 
As  the  weather  information  desired  was  far  more  ex- 
tensive than  the  ships  had  ever  before  obtained, 
special  instructions  were  issued  to  cover  the  operation 
of  the  meteorological  apparatus  and  the  codes  neces- 
sary to  transmitting  in  a  few  words  the  complicated 
data  recorded.  This  alone  took  thirteen  pages. 

The  plan  of  the  formation  of  the  planes  themselves, 
the  rules  for  mano3uvring  and  for  action  in  case  of 
emergency,  etc.,  were  made  as  simple  as  possible. 
Events  in  the  air  happen  quickly,  and  hampering 
the  skipper  and  pilots  with  complicated  orders  would 
be  worse  than  giving  no  orders  at  all.  In  a  nutshell, 
the  idea  was  to  follow  the  leader  and,  when  necessary 
to  do  otherwise,  to  do  it  first  and  report  afterward. 
The  seaplane  flagship  would  lay  the  course  and  set 
the  speed,  the  others,  on  each  side,  adjusting  their 
movements  accordingly. 

The  contingency  of  suddenly   running  into  fog 


THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S        181 

without  warning  had  to  be  provided  for,  and  to  elimi- 
nate any  chance  of  a  collision  all  planes  were  to  start 
to  climb  out  of  it,  and  those  on  the  flanks  would  shift 
their  course  slightly  away  from  the  "flag"  to  obtain 
a  more  comfortable  distance  from  her. 

Thus,  from  the  foregoing,  some  idea  may  be  gained 
of  the  extent  of,  and  the  care  employed  in  planning 
for,  the  project  of  crossing  the  Atlantic  Ocean  in  a 
"heavier-than-air"  craft.  As  it  appeared  to  be  the 
first  effort  of  its  kind  by  any  government,  the  prob- 
lem was  to  make  the  crossing  with  every  safeguard 
provided  against  the  loss  of  personnel  or  of  material. 
In  time  of  war  a  great  deal  would  have  been  omitted 
and  very  few  ships  employed  to  assist.  But  in  peace 
times  the  Navy  always  pursues  the  policy  of  "safety 
first." 

If  the  flight  were  successful,  not  only  would  an 
immense  amount  of  valuable  and  much-desired  in- 
formation be  obtained  concerning  long-distance  over- 
sea flying,  but  Naval  Aviation,  the  Navy  Department, 
and  the  whole  country  would  receive  the  plaudits 
of  the  entire  world  for  accomplishing  a  notable  feat 
in  the  progress  of  the  science;  the  mass  of  the  people 
would  be  made  to  realize  the  importance  of  aviation 
as  a  valuable  arm  of  the  naval  service;  and  the  way 
would  be  blazed  for  others  to  follow  and  thus  act  to 
promote  a  commercial  transatlantic  service. 

To  those  who  might  say  that  no  commercial  com- 
pany would  ever  go  to  the  expense  of  keeping  such  an 
extensive  patrol,  or  of  providing  such  complicated 
equipment,  we  would  agree.  We  did  not  think  it 
would  be  necessary  after  something  was  learned  by 


182        THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S 

actual  experience.  For  instance:  Several  different 
methods  were  provided  for  finding  and  keeping  the 
correct  course  to  steer,  but  no  one  knew  by  experience 
which  one  would  be  most  suited  to  the  purpose. 
That  was  one  of  the  things  to  learn  on  this  trip.  A 
second  flight  across  would  see  a  much  simpler  layout, 
with  the  elimination  of  all  the  safeguards  except 
those  found  to  be  best  and  most  reliable.  The  atti- 
tude of  all  concerned  with  the  first  transatlantic  flight 
was  fairly  well  expressed  in  an  article  written  before 
starting  the  flight,  from  which  the  following  para- 
graph is  quoted : 

"Some  flyers  might  say  there  was  no  sportsman- 
ship in  flying  across  after  making  such  thorough 
preparations  and  that  anybody  could  jump  from  ship 
to  ship  when  they  are  but  fifty  miles  apart.  Well 
and  good,  and  all  honour  to  any  one  who  tries  it  alone, 
if  he  gets  there  or  even  if  he  makes  an  attempt.  But 
we  say  that  accomplishing  a  transatlantic  flight  in  a 
two-seated,  single-engine  machine  proves  no  more 
that  it  is  a  practicable  proposition  than  a  hit  obtained 
from  a  blind  shot  in  the  dark  proves  the  practicability 
of  obtaining  results  with  that  method  of  target  prac- 
tice." 

The  three  seaplanes  N.C.I,  N.C.3,  and  N.C.4,  were 
finally  placed  in  regular  commission  by  the  com- 
mandant of  the  District  on  May  2,  1919.  The 
ceremony  was  short  but  impressive.  With  the  crews 
who  were  to  make  the  flight  drawn  up  in  line  the 
Chief  of  Staff  read  his  orders  from  the  Navy  Depart- 
ment and  gave  the  order  to  hoist  the  colours.  To  the 
music  of  the  bugle  the  United  States  ensign,  the  jack, 


THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S        183 

and  the  commission  pennant  were  run  up.  Then 
Commander  Towers  read  his  orders,  saluted,  and 
assumed  command  of  the  N.C.  Seaplane  Division  One. 
This  was  the  first  time  in  the  history  of  the  Navy 
Department  that  any  seaplane  had  been  placed  in 
regular  commission. 

The  seaplanes  were  even  then  not  completely 
ready  for  a  start.  Day  and  night  work  was  still 
going  on.  Up  to  the  time  of  the  commissioning 
ceremony  none  of  us  knew  in  which  seaplane  we  were 
to  fly.  Everybody  worked  for  the  common  cause. 
Soon  after  commissioning,  however,  the  detail  was 
made,  Commander  Towers  to  command  the  N.C. 3, 
which  therefore  became  the  "flagship"  of  the  di- 
vision; Lieutenant-Commander  Bellinger  to  the  N.C.I, 
and  myself  to  the  N.C. 4*  The  reason  for  my  assign- 
ment to  the  N.C. 4  was  because  it  was  thought  that 
she  was  slightly  heavier  than  the  others  and  my  crew 
weighed  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  pounds  less  than 
either  of  the  other  two.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  I  think 
it  probable  that  the  N.C. 4  was  somewhat  lighter,  in 
view  of  the  getaway  made  later  at  Trepassey  Bay 
when  we  left  the  water  very  easily  while  the  others 
had  great  difficulty. 

The  matter  of  determining  the  comparative 
weights  may  seem  to  be  a  simple  problem,  but  with 
such  large  weights  involved,  our  crude  methods  for 
obtaining  them  and  the  difficulty  of  weighing  the 
seaplanes  under  like  conditions,  a  hundred  pounds 
or  more  error  might  very  easily  creep  in. 

All  three  planes  were  nearly  ready  when  one  night 
a  fire  broke  out  in  the  hangar  housing  N.C.I  and 


184        THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S 

N.C.4,  caused  by  the  ignition  of  gasoline  by  a  spark 
from  an  electric  pump.  A  little  fast  work  with  ex- 
tinguishers by  the  men  still  working  there  and  the 
fire  was  put  out,  but  not  until  the  entire  left  wing  of 
the  N.C.I  was  burned  beyond  all  hope  of  repair  and  a 
portion  of  the  tail  of  the  N.C.4  was  badly  scarred.  If 
any  one  of  several  things  had  happened  both  of  those 
seaplanes  would  have  been  permanently  out  of  the 
running.  As  it  was  the  Curtiss  Company  put  every 
available  man  on  the  job,  and  some  time  during  the 
following  night  both  seaplanes  were  again  ready, 
having  had  repairs  that  had  been  variously  estimated 
to  require  from  three  to  ten  days!  It  was  a  remark- 
ably fine  piece  of  work,  probably  the  most  remarkable 
single  event  hi  the  whole  rather  hectic  period  of  prepa- 
ration or  in  the  flight  itself. 

The  day  before  the  flight  was  started,  just  as  the 
N.C.4  was  preparing  to  leave  the  beach  for  a  trial 
flight,  the  second  in  its  existence,  and  the  first  with  its 
regular  crew  on  board,  the  mechanician,  Chief  Special 
Mechanic  Howard,  had  his  left  hand  cut  off  by  our 
pusher  propeller.  His  nerve  and  grit  were  really 
marvellous.  Scorning  all  assistance  he  jumped  to  the 
ground  and,  holding  on  to  the  stump,  walked  to  the 
dispensary  and  reported  for  treatment.  Of  course 
he  had  to  be  left  behind;  he  had  our  deepest  sympa- 
thy, for  he  had  been  with  the  N.C's  from  the  start, 
had  worked  tirelessly  hi  whipping  the  motor  instal- 
lations into  shape,  and  his  whole  heart  and  soul  had 
been  wrapped  up  in  the  transatlantic  project. 

I  have  mentioned  above  the  fact  that  the  N.C.4  had 
been  flown  but  once  previously.  The  lack  of  suffi- 


THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S        185 

cient  time  in  the  air  for  the  purpose  of  working  out 
small  but  possibly  important  defects  and  for  the 
training  of  the  crew  in  team  work  was  the  only 
unsatisfactory  feature  of  the  period  of  preparation. 
But  all  of  us  without  exception  wished  to  start  at  the 
earliest  possible  date,  for  we  wanted  to  be  the  first 
across,  and  we  thought  that  the  flying  time  necessary 
to  get  us  to  Newfoundland  would  be  a  sufficient  "shak- 
ing-down" period. 


CHAPTER  II 

THE    FLIGHT    BEGINS — "N.C.4"  GOES  LAME — REPAIRS 

AT   CHATHAM — THE    "HOPS"    TO   HALIFAX 

AND    TREPASSEY   BAY 

THE  actual  start  from  Rockaway  of  the  three 
seaplanes  N.C.I,  N.C.3,  and  N.C.4,  was  made 
on  May  8th,  at  10 :02  A.  M.,  local  time,  under  an 
overcast  and  dismal  sky.  A  large  crowd  had  assem- 
bled, composed  of  personal  friends,  well-wishers  from 
the  Curtiss  Company,  and  the  usual  number  of  re- 
porters and  camera  men.  These  latter  had  for  many 
days  been  following  our  every  move  with  close  at- 
tention. 

The  N.C.3,  the  division  "flagplane"  took  off  first. 
The  N.C.4  was  planing  by  the  time  the  N.C.S  was  in 
the  air  and  the  N.C.I  followed  close  behind.  After 
gaining  a  few  hundred  feet,  heading  west,  the  N.C.S 
made  a  wide  turn  to  the  left  and  headed  on  a  course 
to  clear  the  southern  coast  of  Long  Island.  The 
N.C.4  and  the  N.C.I  cut  in  and  gradually  assumed 
their  positions  in  formation. 

As  we  passed  by  the  Naval  Air  Station  at  Rockaway 
all  of  us  bade  them  a  mental  "good-bye"  and 
fervently  hoped  that  our  comparatively  untried 
motors  would  not  let  us  down  and  force  an  ignomini- 
ous return. 

We  started  a  gradual  climb,  following  the  "flag,  J 

186 


THE  TRIUMPH  OP  THE  N.C'S       187 

Until  about  2,000  feet  altitude  had  been  attained, 
which  was  then  held  for  a  while.  The  formation  was 
as  follows:  The  N.C.3,  flagplane,  with  Commander 
Towers,  acting  as  guide;  the  N.C.I,  with  Lieutenant- 
Commander  Bellinger  on  the  right  flank,  not  less 
than  400  yards  nor  more  than  three  miles  distant, 
maintaining  about  the  same  altitude;  and  the  N.C.4, 
with  myself  in  command,  in  a  corresponding  position 
on  the  left  flank. 

The  planes  were  not  required  to  keep  closely  in 
position,  but  to  endeavour  to  maintain  steady  courses 
and  speeds  as  far  as  was  possible,  in  order  to  simplify 
navigation.  It  can  readily  be  seen  that  continuous 
changes  in  course  and  speed,  in  order  to  maintain  a 
definite  relative  position  with  the  flag,  would  cause 
a  navigator  an  immense  amount  of  work  in  keeping 
track  of  his  exact  position.  Each  boat  must  be 
navigated  independently,  for  any  time  the  necessity 
might  arise  of  proceeding  "on  its  own,"  or  it  might 
be  necessary  to  make  a  bee-line  to  some  position 
too  far  away  to  see. 

The  formation,  therefore,  was  elastic  and  the  exact 
relative  positions  varied  according  to  the  circum- 
stances and  as  the  judgment  of  the  commanding 
officer  dictated.  On  the  stretch  from  Rockaway  to 
Vineyard  Sound  it  appeared  that  the  commanding 
officers  had  considerably  varying  ideas,  for  the  for- 
mation was  extremely  wabbly.  However,  between 
Vineyard  Sound  and  Monomoy  Point  the  three  planes 
started  to  act  more  as  a  unit,  and  maintained  a  fairly 
accurate  formation.  We  slowly  left  Nantucket 
Sound  behind  us  ("slowly,"  for  in  spite  of  the  great 


188        THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S 

speed  of  an  airplane,  it  always  seems  slow  except  when 
flying  at  very  low  altitudes)  and  passed  over  Mono- 
moy  Point  at  1 :20  P.M.,  headed  for  Nova  Scotia.  We 
were  now  started  on  our  first  real  over-sea  trip. 

We* were  then  at  about  2,500  feet  altitude,  climb- 
ing gradually,  following  the  N.C.3.  Visibility  was 
good,  with  a  slight  haze,  and  there  was  a  slight  wind 
against  us.  It  was  about  one  and  a  half  hours  later 
when  the  troubles  of  the  N.C.4  began.  The  engineer 
reported  that  the  oil  pressure  on  the  after  centre 
engine  had  dropped  to  nothing  and  the  spark  had 
been  cut.  We  were  therefore  proceeding  under  the 
power  of  the  remaining  three  engines  but  making 
good  speed  at  that.  This  incident  made  us  a  little 
uneasy,  as  now,  if  one  of  the  other  engines  gave  us 
trouble,  a  landing  would  be  necessary.  And  that  is 
what  happened. 

The  first  of  the  "station"  destroyers  was  sighted  at 
2.05  p.  M.  well  off  the  port  bow.  I  changed  course  to 
pass  over  her  and  N.C.3  and  N.C.I  were  soon  lost 
sight  of.  Shortly  after  passing  over  this  destroyer 
the  other  two  planes  were  again  sighted  ahead  and  to 
starboard;  they  had  also  apparently  shifted  their 
course  somewhat  to  the  left.  While  gradually  over- 
hauling them  and  when  a  little  more  than  halfway  to 
the  next  destroyer  fifty  miles  farther  along,  a  shower 
of  water  and  steam  was  suddenly  seen  leaving  the 
forward  centre  engine.  That  meant  one  thing — a 
punctured  crank  case  and  only  two  good  engines  left. 
We  could  not  hold  up  under  the  power  of  two  engines, 
and  so  came  down  to  the  surface.  The  other  two 
planes  kept  right  on;  afterward  they  said  they  had 


THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S        189 

seen  us  turn  (which  was  done  to  head  the  plane  into 
the  wind  for  a  landing)  but  did  not  see  us  land  and 
had  thought  we  were  heading  back  in  order  to  land 
near  the  destroyer  recently  passed. 

The  water  was  slightly  rough  but  not  so  bad.  We 
hoped  then  to  locate  the  oil  leak  in  the  after  engine, 
repair  it,  and  get  under  way  once  more.  After  two 
hours'  work  this  idea  was  given  up;  it  was  just  as 
well,  for  there  was  no  leak  to  find  in  that  motor. 
We  found  out  later  that  the  oil  pressure  had  failed 
on  account  probably  of  the  chilling  of  certain  oil 
pipes  and  that  the  oil  had  been  lost  when  the  forward 
engine  had  let  go,  for  the  oil  systems  of  these  two 
centre  engines  were  linked  together.  So  there  we 
were  with  two  good  engines,  out  at  sea,  somewhere 
off  Cape  Cod.  We  had  no  success  with  the  weak 
battery  radio  set.  No  destroyer  heard  us.  Appar- 
ently they  were  too  busy  talking  to  each  other  to 
"listen  in"  for  us.  They  were  asking  if  we  had  been 
sighted,  venturing  opinions  as  to  where  we  were, 
suggesting  areas  to  search,  and  so  forth.  During 
the  two-hour  period  of  investigating  the  trouble  I 
took  an  observation  of  the  sun  which  indicated  that 
our  position  was  twenty  miles  farther  out  than  I  had 
figured  by  my  reckoning,  or  eighty  miles  from  the 
nearest  shore.  That  was  a  little  discouraging. 

At  about  5  P.  M.  we  started  to  "taxi"  (making 
headway  on  the  water  by  means  of  the  motors), 
hoping  to  sight  a  destroyer,  or,  failing  that,  to  con- 
tinue on  to  Cape  Cod  and  make  the  Naval  Air  Sta- 
tion at  Chatham.  Two  hours  and  a  hah6  after  com- 
mencing the  long,  tiresome  journey,  a  destroyer  was 


190        THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S 

sighted  about  ten  miles  to  the  north,  and  we  headed 
that  way,  but  the  destroyer  was  looking  for  us  in  an- 
other direction  and  soon  drew  away.  There  was 
nothing  to  do  but  resume  our  westward  course. 

It  soon  got  dark,  but  it  was  a  beautiful  night,  witli 
the  moon  nearly  full,  and  the  sea  had  smoothed 
down,  so  that  after  the  first  hour  or  two  we  made 
about  ten  knots.  We  were  not  much  worried,  for 
if  the  engines  held  out  we  were  bound  to  make 
shore.  They  did  hold  out  all  through  the  night. 

The  engineers  and  pilots  relieved  each  other  and 
took  cat-naps  in  the  bottom  of  the  hull.  The  radio 
officer  and  I  got  an  occasional  wink  of  sleep.  In  fact, 
this  was  the  only  time  I  slept  at  all  on  board  the  N.C.4 
during  the  entire  trip. 

Along  toward  morning  we  tried  to  intercept  a 
steamer,  the  lights  of  which  were  sighted  some  dis- 
tance away.  But  she  also  was  too  fast  for  us  and 
we  gave  up  the  chase. 

At  one  time  both  engines  suddenly  stopped  and 
remained  so  for  more  than  twenty  minutes;  then  the 
starboard  engine  was  started  again  and  we  turned  cir- 
cles for  twelve  minutes  more,  trying  to  start  the  port 
engine.  That  one  finally  listened  to  reason,  not  to 
mention  the  flowing  tributes  of  the  crew,  and  con- 
sented to  continue  its  work.  We  sighted  our  first 
lighthouse  on  Cape  Cod  at  5:25,  then  another  one, 
and  just  as  it  grew  fairly  light  we  arrived  off  the 
Naval  Air  Station  at  Chatham.  Two  seaplanes  from 
that  station  were  just  starting  out  to  look  for  us. 
Their  mission  was  accomplished  almost  before  it  had 
begun. 


THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S        191 

Just  as  we  arrived  off  the  entrance  to  the  narrow 
and  winding  channel  to  wait  for  a  tow,  the  oil  pres- 
sure in  one  of  the  engines  that  had  been  running  all 
night  dropped  down,  but  we  did  not  care.  That 
good  old  engine  had  done  its  work.  That  same 
engine  took  us  later  all  the  way  to  Halifax  and  Tre- 
passey,  then  to  the  Azores,  and  finally  to  Lisbon  and 
Plymouth. 

It  was  not  long  before  we  were  tied  up  at  the 
Chatham  station.  The  officers  and  men  of  that 
station  turned  to  with  a  will  and  fixed  us  up  finely, 
both  as  regards  our  personal  comfort  and  the  wel- 
fare of  our  ship.  They  took  out  our  broken-down 
motor,  gave  us  a  good  one  they  had,  and  installed  it 
for  us.  They  did  numerous  other  necessary  small 
jobs  and  by  the  afternoon  of  the  second  day,  the 
10th,  N.C.4  was  ready  once  more  to  battle  with  the 
elements.  Unfortunately,  however,  the  elements 
were  not  ready.  A  forty -mile  gale  set  in  blowing 
directly  from  Halifax  to  Chatham,  and  worse  than 
that  it  kept  on  blowing.  It  did  not  stop  until  the 
afternoon  of  the  13th.  During  this  tedious  wait  we 
were  encouraged  from  time  to  time  by  despatches, 
stating  that  weather  conditions  on  the  Newfound- 
land-Azores leg  were  unfavourable;  that  meant  that 
N.C.I  and  N.C.3,  which  had  made  quick  trips  to 
Halifax  and  then  on  to  Trepassey,  would  not  leave 
immediately.  We  would  not  have  blamed  them  if 
they  had,  for  ideal  weather  conditions  for  the  long 
stretch  between  Newfoundland  and  the  Azores  were 
so  unusual  that  it  would  be  unwise  to  let  a  good 
chance  slip  by. 


192        THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S 

On  the  13th,  with  good  weather  promised,  a  day- 
light start  was  planned  for  the  14th.  Then  a  starter 
on  one  of  the  motors  broke  in  testing  out.  There 
were  no  spares  at  Chatham.  The  Rockaway  Air 
Station  was  called  on  the  'phone  and  within  three 
quarters  of  an  hour  had  a  seaplane  headed  for  Mon- 
tauk  with  two  starters  on  board.  Meantime  Chat- 
ham started  another  seaplane  to  Montauk  as  a  relay; 
unfortunately,  before  getting  into  the  air,  this  plane 
ran  full  tilt  on  a  sand  bar.  Then  a  blimp  was  got- 
ten ready  and  started  out.  Twenty  minutes  after 
the  blimp  had  left,  a  call  came  in  from  New  York 
that  the  Rockaway  seaplane  had  arrived  at  Mon- 
tauk and  was  very  anxious  to  come  right  on  through 
to  Chatham!  I  replied:  "Fine,  go  to  it."  It  was 
then  dark  but  with  a  fine  moon  and  I  knew  that  one 
of  the  pilots  was  well  acquainted  with  Chatham's 
winding  channels.  After  getting  the  plane  all  ready 
to  receive  the  starter,  we  turned  in  to  await  develop- 
ments. The  seaplane  arrived  at  12:30  A.M.,  and  in 
went  the  starter.  At  daylight  we  were  ready.  The 
poor  old  blimp  returned  from  its  wild-goose  chase  at 
about  the  same  time. 

Due  to  minor  troubles  developing  we  did  not 
finally  get  started  until  8:14  A.M.  But  we  left  with  a 
good  strong  wind  in  our  favour.  We  picked  up  each 
of  the  three  destroyers  in  turn  that  were  stationed 
between  Chatham  and  Nova  Scotia  and  finally  hit 
Seal  Island  square,  then  skirted  the  coast  and  ar- 
rived at  Halifax  after  a  run  of  three  hours  and  fifty- 
four  minutes  from  Chatham  Bar,  at  an  average 
speed  of  eighty-six  knots.  The  first  leg  was  at  last 


THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S        193 

accomplished  and  the  Baltimore  received  us  with 
open  arms.  They  told  us  the  cheering  news  that 
N.C.1  and  N.C.3  were  still  at  Newfoundland.  "Now 
for  a  quick  run  to  Trepassey  and  perhaps  we  shall 
catch  them  yet,"  was  our  thought. 

On  this  first  leg  the  radio  officer  enjoyed  himself 
by  listening  to  messages  from  all  around  and  by  send- 
ing some  on  his  own  account.  Before  making  Seal 
Island  a  message  of  inquiry  was  received  from  Assist- 
ant Secretary  Roosevelt.  I  replied  immediately 
with  our  position  and  speed.  A  few  minutes  later  we 
received  word  that  it  was  exactly  three  minutes  from 
the  time  of  Mr.  Roosevelt's  filing  the  message  in 
Washington  to  the  time  of  his  receiving  my  reply, 
which  constituted  a  world's  record — the  first  pat 
on  the  back,  most  welcome  after  our  discouraging 
delays. 

We  were  greatly  encouraged  as  a  result  of  this 
trip.  We  were  now  out  of  the  United  States  and 
much  nearer  the  "jumping-off"  place  in  Newfound- 
land. The  power  plant  had  functioned  so  well  and 
we  had  picked  up  the  station  destroyers  with  such 
regularity  and  with  so  little  trouble  that  our  confi- 
dence in  the  machine  and  ourselves  was  considerably 
increased,  and  we  thought  that  at  last  our  bad  luck, 
which  had  gained  us  the  name  of  the  "lame  duck,'* 
was  over. 

It  had  been  a  very  easy  and  comfortable  passage 
thanks  to  the  roominess  of  the  hull.  I  generally  sat 
in  the  extreme  bow  on  a  small  box  with  a  soft  life 
preserver  as  a  cushion,  in  such  a  position  that  I.  could 
look  ahead  or  to  one  side,  but  at  any  time  I  could 


194        THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S 

shift  my  position  to  a  seat  rigged  in  the  bottom  of  the 
hull  just  aft  of  the  box  and  could  stretch  out  or  even 
lie  down  if  the  spirit  so  moved.  The  others,  too,  had 
plenty  of  room;  there  was  no  occasion  for  having 
an  arm  or  a  leg  fall  asleep. 

At  Halifax,  the  weather  still  held  good  and  we 
planned  to  start  early  the  next  morning  for  Tre- 
passey.  The  structure  of  the  plane  and  the  power 
plant  were  given  careful  attention.  The  "low-com- 
pression" motor  installed  at  Chatham  had  vibrated 
considerably  and  the  two  wing  motors  had  done 
some  "missing"  due  to  dirt  in  the  carburetors.  The 
missing  was  easily  corrected,  but  if  we  were  to  take 
the  time  necessary  to  replace  the  Chatham  motor 
we  were  afraid  that  word  would  be  received  from 
Newfoundland  that  the  other  planes  had  started  for 
the  Azores.  We  therefore  did  what  could  be  done 
in  the  short  time  available,  refuelled  and  re-oiled,  and 
set  out  the  next  morning  with  the  blessings  of  the 
Baltimore's  officers  and  men. 

Things  went  well  for  a  few  minutes,  then  the  oil 
pressure  in  that  same  centre  forward  engine  started 
to  fall.  We  headed  for  the  smoother  water  near 
shore  and  landed  eighteen  miles  from  Halifax  to  in- 
vestigate. The  oil  trouble  was  corrected,  but  when 
about  to  start  again  we  found  more  jobs  to  be  done. 
In  such  a  new  installation  as  this  it  was  to  be  ex- 
pected that  more  or  less  dirt  and  foreign  matter 
would  have  collected  in  the  gasoline  lines  and  not 
had  opportunity  to  work  out  thoroughly.  A  piece 
of  rubber  was  found  in  one  of  the  gas  leads  to  a 
motor  that  had  been  starving,  carburetor  jets  were 


THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S        195 

cleaned  out,  and  a  new  spark-plug  was  found  neces- 
sary for  a  cylinder  that  had  refused  to  fire. 

At  last,  at  12:45  P.M.,  Halifax  time,  we  once  more 
took  off,  and  much  to  our  delight  found  every  cylin- 
der hitting  as  it  ought  to  hit.  This  time  we  made 
no  other  stop  until  Trepassey  appeared  beneath  us. 

The  run  was  uneventful,  varying  winds  were  ob- 
tained sometimes  of  greater  velocity,  but  fortunately 
mostly  in  our  favour  as  the  weather  forecaster  on  the 
Baltimore,  who  was  Professor  McAdie  (also  Lieu- 
tenant-Commander in  the  Naval  Reserves  and 
Superintendent  of  the  Blue  Hill  Observatory),  had 
predicted.  During  the  170-mile  run  from  Cape 
Breton  Island  to  St.  Pierre  off  Newfoundland  the  wind 
blew  strong  and  sent  us  along  at  a  speed  of  about  95 
knots  or  109  miles  per  hour  at  times.  Our  friends, 
the  destroyers,  were  picked  up  regularly.  I  ex- 
changed messages  of  greeting  with  several  of  the  skip- 
pers who  were  classmates  of  mine  at  the  Naval 
Academy.  It  was  a  comforting  feeling  to  realize 
that  Uncle  Sam's  most  efficient  men  were  standing 
by,  ready  to  extend  a  helping  hand  in  case  of  trouble. 
We  were  maintaining  about  3,000  feet  and  once 
or  twice  passed  over  and  through  light,  fleecy  lumps 
of  clouds,  but  these  never  lasted  longer  than  a 
few  minutes;  for  the  most  part,  visibility  was  very 
good. 

After  passing  St.  Pierre  the  change  of  course  nec- 
essary to  head  us  for  our  destination  brought  the 
wind  almost  directly  astern,  and  we  fairly  burned 
the  air  to  Trepassey.  The  temperature  had  been 
gradually  falling  and  icicles  were  forming  on  the 


196        THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S 

struts.  Whenever  I  stood  up  and  leaned  forward 
in  order  to  get  a  reading  from  the  "drift  indicator," 
the  icy  blast  that  stung  my  face  and  hands  was  a 
temptation  to  abandon  the  instrument  and  guess  at 
our  drift.  I  was  wearing  two  suits  of  heavy  flannels, 
a  flannel  shirt,  a  jersey,  the  regulation  aviator's 
uniform,  and  over  all  our  heavy -lined  leather  flying 
suit — it  was  none  too  much  even  when  sitting  down 
in  the  hull  out  of  the*  wind. 

Some  of  the  others  later  said  that  they  were  becom- 
ing chilled  through,  but  this  condition  did  not  last 
long  as  we  soon  rounded  the  point  to  the  south  of 
Trepassey  and  headed  up  the  bay. 

As  we  were  manoeuvring  for  a  landing  N.C.I 
and  N.C.3  were  sighted  on  the  water  taxiing  into 
the  inner  harbour.  They  were  caught  at  last! 
They  had  planned  to  start  for  the  Azores  without 
us  but  failed  -to  get  off.  We  were  saved  by  a 
hair  from  being  left  behind.  It  was  found  after- 
ward that  too  much  gasoline  had  been  put  in, 
which  increased  the  weight  so  much  that  the  planes 
refused  to  lift. 

Congratulations  were  showered  on  us  and  we  were 
very  happy  to  be  with  "the  crowd"  once  more  and 
for  the  chance  to  go  along.  No  longer  the  "lame 
duck,"  all  of  us  were  again  on  an  equal  footing. 

Rapid  work  was  done  on  N.C.4  and  good  work, 
as  was  evidenced  by  the  remarkable  run  to  Horta. 
A  fine  new  motor  replaced  the  centre  forward  one 
that  had  been  installed  at  Chatham  and  that  had 
given  us  so  much  anxiety.  The  whole  oil  and  gaso- 
line systems  were  carefully  cleaned,  three  new  pro- 


THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S        197 

pellers  were  put  on,  and  we  were  ready  just  in  time 
to  make  the  big  hop  with  the  others. 

Most  of  this  work  was  done  by  the  detail  that  had 
been  sent  up  with  the  Aroostook.  The  N.C.4  crew 
took  a  good  night's  rest  in  order  to  be  ready  for  the 
next  day's  start. 


CHAPTER  III 

THE    BIG    "HOP" — NEWFOUNDLAND    TO    THE    AZORES 

I  HAD  been  privately  hoping  for  one  more  day  in 
which  to  work  on  the  plane  in  order  to  assure 
ourselves  that  all  parts  were  functioning  as  they 
should.  But  the  aerographic  officer — in  plain  English, 
the  weather  forecaster — informed  us  that  conditions 
all  the  way  to  the  Azores  would  be  unusually  good, 
and  that  a  change  would  probably  occur  if  the  start 
were  postponed  for  another  twenty -four  hours.  He 
was  right,  except  that,  as  will  be  seen  later  on,  the 
change  came  sooner  than  expected — a  storm  sneaked 
in  from  a  quarter  unguarded  by  any  one  of  our 
"meteorological "  battleships. 

In  starting  out  on  the  next  leg,  the  longest  of  all, 
about  1,350  nautical  miles  to  Ponta  Delgada  with  a 
sub-fuelling  station  at  Horta,  1,200  miles  away,  the 
fact  that  we  had  a  new  and  untried  motor  just  in- 
stalled gave  us  some  uneasiness.  The  start  was  de- 
layed somewhat  by  trouble  in  getting  that  motor 
going,  but  finally,  in  the  late  afternoon,  all  three 
planes,  N.C.3,  N.C.4,  and  N.C.I,  were  taxiing  around 
Trepassey's  sheltered  waters  allowing  the  motors 
and  complicated  systems  of  piping  to  warm  up. 
This  was  on  the  16th,  the  day  after  the  N.C.4's  ar- 
rival. Then  N.C.8  started  out,  and  N.C.4  immedi- 
ately shot  on  full  power.  We  soon  saw  that  N.C.S 

198 


THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S        199 

had  given  up  the  attempt  to  get  off,  but  by  that  time 
N.C.4  was  planing  on  its  step,  very  evidently  ready 
to  take  the  air,  and  it  struck  me  as  a  fine  opportunity 
to  give  our  new  motor,  and,  in  fact,  the  entire  power 
plant,  a  preliminary  try-out  during  the  time  neces- 
sary for  N.C.3  to  return  for  another  attempt.  I 
therefore  gave  the  pilots  a  signal  to  keep  going  and 
in  a  few  more  seconds  we  were  bouncing  along  the 
nearly  spent  swells  entering  the  harbour,  then  with 
one  final,  easy  leap  we  stayed  in  the  air.  To  the 
great  delight  of  the  whole  crew,  everything  func- 
tioned perfectly  and  the  new  motor  ran  smooth  and 
sweet  and  delivered  its  full  quota  of  power.  For 
eighteen  minutes  we  flew  over  Trepassey  and  Mutton 
bays  and  then,  as  N.C.S  appeared  to  be  waiting  for 
something,  we  again  landed  and  once  more  stood  by 
for  a  start.  We  had  a  new  feeling  of  confidence  now 
in  our  plane.  The  chance  of  having  to  land  soon 
after  starting,  as  had  been  done  outside  of  Halifax, 
seemed  quite  remote.  A  landing  outside  here  would 
have  been  most  unpleasant,  as  the  thirty-mile  wind 
had  kicked  up  a  fairly  rough  sea,  and  a  forced  landing 
in  that  water  did  not  mean  simply  the  effecting  of 
minor  repairs  and  another  getaway.  It  meant  to  us 
a  probable  abandonment  of  the  whole  project. 

At  last  N.C.S,  having  put  out  one  of  her  crew 
and  certain  weight-producing  material,  made  a  second 
attempt,  this  time  a  successful  one.  N.C.4  followed, 
and  at  10:05  G.  M.  T.,  or  about  6:00  p.  M.  local  time, 
of  May  16th,  she  again  took  the  air,  this  time  to  stay. 
N.C.I  was  still  plowing  the  water  of  Trepassey  Bay 
when  lost  to  sight  behind  a  hill,  but  she  succeeded 


200        THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S 

in  taking  off,  and  later  I  saw  a  speck  high  up  in  the 
western  sky  indicating  that  all  three  of  us  were  on 
our  way,  with  the  hope  and  expectation  of  sighting  a 
small  island  sometime  the  following  day,  more  than  a 
thousand  miles  away  and  across  a  white-capped  sea. 

It  was  cool,  but,  dressed  warmly,  most  of  us  were 
comfortable;  the  wind  appeared  to  lessen  in  strength 
somewhat  and  the  sea,  dotted  with  icebergs,  did  not 
look  very  rough.  N.C.3  kept  very  low  on  the  water 
for  a  half  hour  or  so  while  we  maintained  about  600 
feet.  As  the  light  faded  she  was  hard  to  see  against 
the  dark  background  of  water;  then  she  climbed  a 
little,  and  the  two  planes  were  soon  flying  on  the 
same  level,  with  the  outlines  of  each  appearing  dis- 
tinctly to  the  other.  N.C.4  slowly  drew  ahead  of 
the  "flagplane"  in  spite  of  throttling  down  as  much 
as  the  pilots  dared,  for  we  had  to  keep  up  a  good 
speed  in  order  to  maintain  our  altitude  and  to  retain 
good  control  in  the  rather  uneasy  air.  All  sailors 
know  how  much  more  quickly  a  boat  responds  to  the 
rudder  when  its  speed  is  increased.  It  is  the  same 
with  an  airplane;  an  airplane  becomes  very  sluggish 
in  answering  the  controls  when  travelling  slowly, 
and  the  manual  labour  of  operating  them  in  order  to 
keep  the  plane  straight  and  on  an  even  keel  is  in- 
creased considerably,  especially  when  "bumpy  air" 
is  encountered.  When  near  the  first  destroyer  mark- 
ing our  course,  N.C.4  made  a  complete  circle, 
rounded  up  near  N.C.3,  and  from  then  until  she 
was  lost  in  the  dark  we  managed  to  hold  our  correct 
relative  position.  A  little  later  we  turned  on  our 
running  lights,  a  white  light  at  the  leading  edge  of 


THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S        201 

the  upper  wing  on  the  centre  line,  and  green  and  red 
lights  on  the  starboard  and  port  outboard  struts. 
A  radio  was  sent  to  N.C.3  requesting  that  her  lights 
be  turned  on;  later  we  learned  that  they  would  not 
work.  I  could  catch  only  occasional  glimpses  of  a  faint 
light  which  must  have  been  on  the  instrument  board. 

As  the  outlines  of  our  "flagplane"  grew  dimmer 
and  more  indistinct,  I  began  to  realize  what  a  hope- 
less proposition  it  would  be  to  attempt  to  maintain 
contact  with  either  of  the  other  planes  all  through 
the  night.  N.C.1  had  long  since  been  lost  sight  of. 
Up  to  this  time  I  had  merely  followed,  and  changed 
altitude,  speed,  and  course  to  conform  to  the  move- 
ments of  the  leader,  leaving  it  to  him  to  direct  our 
movements  in  order  to  pass  near  the  destroyers. 
Now  it  was  evident  that  we  would  soon  be  "on  our 
own."  Well,  we  had  made  the  runs  from  Chatham 
to  Halifax  and  from  Halifax  to  Trepassey  alone, 
thanks  to  our  troubles  and  delays;  why  shouldn't 
we  make  this  alone?  At  11:55,  one  hour  and  fifty 
minutes  from  Trepassey  and  while  still  able  barely  to 
distinguish  the  silhouette  of  N.C.3,  course  was 
changed  slightly  to  the  left  as  my  reckoning  had  put 
us  to  the  south  of  the  line.  N.C.3  was  immediately 
lost  to  view,  and  N.C.4  was  to  all  intents  and  pur- 
poses acting  singly  with  1,185  miles  yet  to  go. 

At  this  time  it  was  very  dark  except  for  the  stars. 
These,  however,  were  of  great  assistance  to  the  pilots 
in  keeping  the  plane  level  and  on  its  course.  The 
engines  were  hitting  on  every  cylinder.  There  werQ 
no  mufflers  fitted,  so  that  the  exhaust  flame  could  be 
seen,  and  it  was  most  reassuring  to  see  the  flame 


202        THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S 

shooting  out  regularly  from  each  exhaust  valve  with- 
out missing  a  stroke.  The  oil  pressure,  which  was 
normally  at  thirty  to  forty  pounds  by  gauge  and 
which  had  given  us  trouble  at  intervals  previously, 
held  up  perfectly.  The  water  temperature  of  the 
four  radiators  could  not  be  improved.  In  short, 
everything  about  the  big  machine  seemed  to  be  on 
its  best  behaviour,  and  as  time  went  on  our  confi- 
dence increased  to  such  an  extent  that  our  entire 
thoughts  were  centred  on  our  own  individual  duties. 
The  pilots  took  turns  at  the  controls  for  stretches 
of  thirty  to  forty -five  minutes;  the  one  off  duty 
sometimes  remained  in  his  seat,  sometimes  squirmed 
down  in  the  fairly  roomy  space  forward  of  the  seats 
and  aft  of  the  bulkhead  on  which  my  chart  board 
was  slung.  He  would  occasionally  catch  a  few  winks 
of  sleep;  the  "off"  engineer  also  slept  a  little.  The 
radio  man  had  no  relief — he  had  to  stick  to  his  job; 
but  he  found  his  job  of  such  absorbing  interest  that 
the  thought  of  sleep  never  entered  his  head.  The 
Commanding  Officer  and  navigator,  myself,  felt  not 
the  least  inclination  to  sleep,  even  had  there  been  an 
opportunity.  There  were  too  many  changes  of 
course  to  be  made  on  account  of  slight  changes  in 
wind  currents  and  on  account  of  the  varying  ideas 
of  the  destroyers  as  to  their  correct  positions.  They 
were  never  very  far  out,  but  there  was  bound  to  be 
a  considerable  variation  from  the  straight  line  ex- 
tending from  off  Trepassey  to  Corvo  in  the  Azores; 
a  fresh  breeze,  unknown  currents,  and  no  opportunity 
of  verifying  position  since  twilight  made  that  in- 
evitable. 


THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S       203 

Then,  too,  there  was  always  the  possibility  of  being 
forced  to  make  a  landing.  For  this  contingency  I 
was  not  depending  entirely  on  the  bow  flares  de- 
scribed before,  for  we  had  had  no  opportunity  to  prac- 
tise landing  the  N.C's  at  night  by  means  of  the  flares, 
and  there  was  a  certain  element  of  doubt  as  to  their 
efficiency.  Therefore,  it  was  my  intention  at  any 
sign  of  trouble  to  grab  a  Very  pistol  kept  right  at  my 
hand  and,  when  the  altimeter  showed  our  near  ap- 
proach to  the  water,  to  shoot  stars  downward  and 
forward.  By  this  means  a  very  close  estimate  of 
our  height  could  be  obtained.  Happily,  however, 
neither  the  flares  nor  the  stars  had  to  be  called  into 
action. 

At  12:19  G.  M.  T.  (Greenwich  mean  time  will  be 
used  hereafter  except  when  otherwise  stated)  in  the 
morning  of  the  next  day,  the  17th,  the  first  faint 
signs  of  the  rising  moon  were  seen.  As  it  grew  lighter 
the  nervous  tension  relaxed  even  more — the  pilots' 
work  was  less  difficult,  and  a  forced  landing  in  case 
of  necessity  would  be  easier  of  accomplishment. 
About  this  time  the  air,  which  had  at  no  time  been 
very  quiet,  increased  in  bumpiness.  We  were  then 
at  about  1,000  feet.  A  slow  climb  was  started  to 
1,800  feet,  but  the  air  at  that  altitude  was  as  turbu- 
lent as  that  lower  down,  and  as  our  speed  appeared 
to  have  dropped  considerably  (obtained  by  checking 
times  of  passing  destroyers)  we  later  returned  to  our 
former  altitude  of  800  to  1,000  feet.  The  air  re- 
mained rough  all  through  the  night  and  our  machine 
continued  its  wallowing,  plunging  course. 

At  12:41,  before  the  moon  had  had  a  chance  to  add 


204        THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S 

much  light  to  the  situation,  another  plane  was  sighted 
close  aboard  on  the  port  side.  It  was  in  sight  nearly 
ten  minutes  and  came  too  close  for  comfort.  A  veer 
to  the  right,  a  few  minutes'  climb,  and  they  were 
again  lost  to  view.  This  was  our  last  sight  of  any 
of  the  other  planes  of  the  division,  until  N.C.3  was 
later  seen  in  the  harbour  of  Ponta  Delgada  in  a  half- 
wrecked  condition. 

The  destroyers  marking  our  course  were  checked 
off  on  the  chart  one  after  the  other.  The  star-shells 
which  they  fired  from  their  anti-aircraft  guns  were 
always  sighted  at  great  distances.  In  several  cases 
a  shell  of  one  destroyer  would  be  seen  when  we  were 
passing  over  the  next  destroyer  to  the  westward, 
fifty  miles  away.  Then  after  an  interval  the  search- 
light would  be  seen,  and  finally,  as  we  approached  at 
a  speed  of  about  eighty-five  knots,  the  ship's  deck 
lights  would  appear.  If  the  lights  were  nearly  ahead 
a  sufficient  change  in  course  would  be  made  to  pass 
directly  above,  but  if  too  great  a  change  would  be 
required,  I  would  assume  that  the  destroyer  was  in 
its  exact  position,  estimate  our  distance  from  her, 
and  lay  a  new  course  direct  for  the  next  one.  All 
destroyers  had  large,  illuminated  figures  on  their 
decks  to  indicate  the  number  of  their  station,  but  as 
all  of  the  ships  were  sighted  one  after  the  other  it  was 
never  necessary  to  verify  these  numbers.  The 
searchlights,  laid  directly  into  the  wind  at  the  surface, 
showed  that  the  breeze  was  still  with  us  at  each  suc- 
cessive station. 

In  this  manner  the  night  passed.  At  5:45  came 
the  first  indications  of  dawn.  The  motors  were  still 


THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S         205 

thundering  on  with  not  the  least  appearance  of  ever 
wishing  to  stop.  The  radio  officer  was  having  the 
time  of  his  life,  picking  up  messages  from  places  as 
far  distant  as  Bar  Harbour;  the  last  one  received  was 
distinct  at  1,330  nautical  miles.  He  talked  with 
Cape  Race,  Newfoundland,  and  sent,  via  the  operator 
there,  a  message  of  greeting  to  his  mother  in  the 
States  when  we  were  730  miles  away.  He  reported 
that  N.C.l's  radio  was  working  very  well,  but  that 
N.C.S's  was  weak.  From  intercepted  messages  it 
appeared  that  N.C.I  was  still  behind  us  but  that  N.C.S 
was  ahead.  Later  it  developed  that  we  were  leading 
the  procession;  the  mistake  had  been  made  on  ac- 
count of  N.C.S  calling  destroyers  considerably 
ahead  of  her  own  position  instead  of  the  ^nearest 
one.  Each  destroyer  would  broadcast  our  passing. 
This  message  was  flashed  to  the  base  ship  in  the 
Azores  and  relayed  to  the  Navy  Department  at 
Washington  so  that  the  Department  was  kept  in 
touch  with  the  progress  of  the  flight. 

As  the  light  was  increasing  I  suddenly  remembered 
that  I  had  eaten  nothing  since  lunch  of  the  day  before. 
A  swig  of  hot  coffee  from  our  vacuum  bottle  hit  the 
right  spot,  and  the  sandwiches  were  excellent,  but 
one  of  them  was  enough.  A  small  piece  of  chocolate 
for  dessert,  and  my  first  transatlantic  air  meal  was 
finished.  We  all  find  that  on  these  long  trips  we  are 
neither  hungry  nor  thirsty;  we  throw  most  of  the 
sandwiches  away  at  the  end  of  a  trip,  and,  although 
a  five-gallon  tin  of  water  is  always  carried,  the  tin 
remains  practically  full  until  our  arrival  in  the  next 
port.  The  absence  of  hunger  and  thirst  and  of  any 


206        THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S 

desire  to  sleep  is  probably  an  effect  of  the  continuous 
nervous  tension  under  which  we  undoubtedly  labour, 
although  as  a  rule  we  do  not  realize  we  are  under  any 
tension  at  all  except  when  unusual  and  dangerous 
conditions  are  met.  In  fact,  it  became  rather  mo- 
notonous flying  hour  after  hour  over  waves  that  look 
exactly  alike  and  never  seeing  anything  except  an 
occasional  destroyer. 

The  intercommunication  set  between  members  of 
the  crew  was  not  very  satisfactory.  The  pilots  had 
given  it  up  entirely  and  donned  more  comfortable 
helmets.  As  my  telephone  helmet  fitted  well,  I  still 
retained  it,  and  occasionally  "Radio"  and  I  could 
make  each  other  understand  messages  of  a  simple 
nature.  If  there  was  anything  unusual,  however, 
we  would  exchange  notes,  using  one  of  the  engineers 
as  messenger,  and  occasionally  I  would  squirm  aft 
along  the  passageway,  by  the  gasoline  tanks,  to  the 
after  compartment,  where  we  would  converse  by 
means  of  paper  and  pencil.  The  engineer,  too,  would 
report  by  note  and  his  messages  were  always  cheer- 
ing— all  parts  functioning  properly  with  a  normal 
consumption  of  gasoline. 

At  about  6 :45  a  ship  was  sighted  which  at  first  was 
mistaken  for  a  destroyer  but  which  proved  to  be  a 
freighter.  She  was  crossing  our  course,  and  without 
any  change  we  passed  directly  over  her.  Only  one 
other  merchant  ship  was  sighted  during  this  run. 
The  ocean  wore  its  usual  deserted  look.  If  it  had 
not  been  for  the  destroyers  we  would  probably  have 
felt  lonesome. 

Up  to  this  time,  after  passing  Number  13,  the 


THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S        207 

flight  had  proceeded  so  satisfactorily,  and  so  nearly 
in  the  exact  manner  planned  (except  that  we  were 
alone  instead  of  in  formation),  and  the  destroyers 
had  been  passed  with  such  clocklike  regularity,  that 
it  appeared  now  only  a  matter  of  time  and  ticking  off 
the  remaining  seven  ships,  picking  up  Corvo,  then 
running  by  Destroyers  21  to  23,  passing  between  Pico 
and  San  Jorge  and  by  Destroyers  24  and  25,  and 
finally  picking  up  San  Miguel.  Fate  had  other 
things  in  store  for  us. 

Numbers  14  and  15  were  checked  off  in  regular 
turn,  the  latter  at  7:45.  Ten  minutes  later  there 
seemed  to  be  a  rain  of  considerable  area  ahead. 
Course  was  changed  to  port  for  a  few  minutes  to 
dodge  the  thickest  part,  but  we  soon  saw  that  in- 
stead of  rain,  light  lumps  of  fog  were  forming  and 
blowing  along  in  the  same  direction  that  we  were 
making.  Our  former  course  was  resumed  and  we 
passed  through  the  foggy  area  at  8 :12.  This  did  not 
impress  us  very  strongly  as  we  came  again  into  nearly 
clear  air  and  easily  picked  up  Destroyer  16  a  little 
later.  We  passed  her  at  8 :30.  She  was  the  last  one 
to  be  sighted  until  we  picked  up  Number  22  sometime 
later  on.  Visibility  grew  less  and  less  and  we  missed 
Number  17,  although  little  fog  was  encountered  until 
about  9 :40.  Then  it  began  to  show  us  what  real  fog 
was  like.  At  9:45  we  entered  an  impenetrable  layer 
as  thick  as  pea  soup.  The  sun  disappeared  entirely. 
I  motioned  the  pilot  to  climb,  hoping  to  get  above  it, 
but  the  pilot  was  just  beginning  to  have  troubles  of 
his  own.  In  endeavouring  to  watch  too  many  instru- 
ments he  had  allowed  one  whig  to  drop.  I  immedi- 


208        THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S 

ately  sensed  that  something  was  wrong  but  was  help- 
less to  tell  just  what  it  was  or  how  to  correct  it.  We 
had  lost  all  sense  of  direction.  The  wind  increased  in 
my  face,  which  meant  that  the  speed  of  the  plane  had 
increased  correspondingly.  We  were  going  twenty 
miles  an  hour  faster  than  we  should  be.  An  oc- 
casional momentary  glimpse  of  the  sun  revealed  the 
fact  that  we  were  in  a  sharp  turn.  I  glanced  first  at 
the  compass — it  was  spinning  like  a  top;  then  at  the 
altimeter — 1,200  feet.  At  least  we  were  still  holding 
our  altitude.  Was  the  pilot  never  going  to  get 
control,  or  were  we  going  to  spin  more  and  more  and 
finally  end  in  a  nose  dive  for  the  water?  Then  the 
sun  and  patches  of  blue  sky  appeared  once  more,  the 
big  machine  straightened,  and  as  the  pilot  pulled  her 
back  we  shot  up  out  of  the  fog  bank  into  clear,  warm 
air,  once  more  masters  of  the  situation. 

Immediately  our  former  course  was  resumed,  and 
we  flew  on,  keeping  just  above  the  layer  of  white, 
billowing  fog,  which,  with  the  sun  shining  on  it  and 
streaks  of  blue  sky  in  the  distance,  was  strikingly 
beautiful.  The  sky  above  us  became  more  and  more 
cloudy;  at  the  same  time  the  fog  bank  below  was 
rising,  so  that  it  was  necessary  to  climb  almost  con- 
tinuously to  keep  in  clear  air. 

We  were  sandwiched  in  between  the  fog  underneath 
and  the  clouds  overhead.  Occasional  rifts  appeared 
through  which  the  water  could  be  seen,  and  the  drift 
meter  indicated  that  we  were  being  set  to  the  south. 
Our  course  was  corrected  accordingly  but  favouring 
slightly  a  course  south  of  the  one  originally  laid 
down,  The  Island  of  Corvo  was  very  small,  but 


THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S        209 

there  was  Flores,  a  bigger  one  to  the  south  of  it;  it 
seemed  better  that  any  error  in  our  direction  should 
not  be  to  the  north,  as  there  was  nothing  but  the 
broad  ocean  in  that  direction.  Several  times  it  be- 
came necessary  to  change  course  or  reduce  altitude 
to  pass  around  or  under  a  thick  cloud  in  our  path, 
but  an  average  altitude  of  about  3,000  feet  was 
maintained  all  the  latter  part  of  the  time. 

I  then  began  to  wonder  how  we  were  going  to  come 
out  of  all  this  uncertainty.  Was  this  fog  going  to 
last  indefinitely?  The  islands  of  the  Azores  were 
high  and  perhaps  we  might  sight  one  of  them  over  the 
fog.  Pico  was  more  than  7,000  feet;  I  did  not  know 
then  that  Pico  is  always  covered  with  thick  clouds 
except  in  the  clearest  sort  of  weather.  We  still  had 
several  hours  of  gas  and  the  motors  were  running 
beautifully,  but  they  could  not  keep  on  going  forever. 
Would  we  pick  up  some  one  of  the  islands  and  find 
shelter  in  smooth  water  to  leeward,  or  were  we  in  for 
another  experience  like  that  off  Chatham,  only  very 
much  worse? 

At  10:40  the  fog  was  just  under  us  at  about  3,000 
feet,  and  thinking  that  it  might  have  lifted  from  the 
water  inquiry  was  made  by  radio  of  Destroyer  19 
concerning  visibility  conditions  at  the  surface.  The 
reply  came  in  "thick  fog."  Then  Number  20  was 
called;  his  reply  was  "heavy  mist."  Then  we  tried 
21,  which  was  some  distance  ahead;  he  came  back  with 
"10  miles  visibility."  At  last  we  had  something  to 
encourage  us.  Perhaps,  if  we  kept  on  going,  we  could 
get  out  of  this  mess.  A  light,  stinging  rain  was  en- 
countered for  a  few  minutes,  but  that  soon  passed  or 


210       THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S 

rather  we  passed  by  the  rain,  and  the  air  again  was 
fairly  clear.  The  minutes  ticked  by.  It  had  been 
getting  thicker  to  the  left  of  our  course,  but  to  the 
right  there  was  still  a  streak  of  blue  sky  showing  be- 
tween the  fog  layer  and  the  cloud  layer. 

Then  suddenly,  at  11 :27  or  nearly  three  hours  after 
passing  the  last  destroyer  sighted,  while  flying  at 
3,400  feet  altitude,  we  saw  down  and  on  our  port  hand 
a  tide  rip  through  one  of  the  rifts  in  the  fog  that  had 
of  late  become  less  frequent.  The  water  on  the  far 
side  was  slightly  darker  than  that  on  the  near  side. 
Tide  rips  do  not  occur  far  away  from  land,  therefore 
land  must  be  somewhere  near  by.  As  more  and 
more  of  the  white  line  on  the  water  was  revealed  I 
followed  it  with  my  eyes.  Then  just  where  it  ended 
the  outlines  of  a  rock  loomed  large.  Instantly  the 
thought  flashed:  "this  is  no  tide  rip,  it  is  a  line  of 
surf,  the  darker  portion  is  land,  and  it  must  be  the 
southern  end  of  Flores."  It  took  about  two  seconds 
to  signal  the  pilots  to  come  down.  While  they  were 
spiralling  down  through  the  rift,  being  very  careful 
not  to  enter  the  surrounding  fog,  I  ducked  down  to 
my  chart  and  laid  a  course  to  the  next  destroyer  which 
would  be  Number  22.  As  I  had  hoped,  on  approach- 
ing the  water  we  found  that  the  fog  stopped  nearly  two 
hundred  feet  above  it.  As  we  rounded  the  point  a 
peaceful  farmhouse  came  into  view  in  the  midst  of 
cultivated  fields  on  the  side  of  the  hill.  That  scene 
appeared  far  more  beautiful  to  us  than  any  other 
ever  will.  If  the  worst  happened  now  we  could  land 
in  a  lee  somewhere,  and  get  ashore,  somehow. 

But  now  things  seemed  to  be  breaking  our  way. 


THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S       211 

The  friendly  shores  of  Flores  were  soon  left  behind 
but  we  could  now  see  for  about  ten  miles  all  around. 
Soon  the  smoke  of  Number  22  was  seen  and  we 
passed  over  her  at  12:08.  We  were  feeling  quite 
cocky;  we  had  passed  through  the  fog  and  were  again 
on  our  line  with  visibility  now  about  twelve  miles.  The 
engineer  assured  me  that  there  was  sufficient  gas  and 
oil  left  to  make  Ponta  Delgada  about  250  miles  away. 
Why  stop  at  Horta  then?  The  pilots  had  the  same 
idea;  we  flew  on,  and  soon  left  the  destroyer  astern. 

Then  it  started  to  thicken  up  once  more;  we  passed 
streaks  of  thick  fog,  and  by  the  time  Number  23  was 
due,  we  could  hardly  see  a  mile  in  any  direction  and 
we  missed  her.  Soon  the  fog  became  dense,  but 
keeping  fifty  feet  above  the  water  we  could  still  keep 
it  in  sight.  No  Ponta  Delgada  for  us  to-day;  we 
would  be  perfectly  satisfied  to  make  any  port.  I 
figured  keeping  on  our  course  until  1:18;  then  make 
a  right-angle  turn,  and,  allowing  any  speed  between 
seventy  and  eighty -five  knots  from  Destroyer  22,  we 
should  sight  land  somewhere  between  the  western  end 
of  Fayal  and  the  eastern  end  of  Pico  with  some  mar- 
gin to  spare. 

Before  it  became  necessary  to  execute  this  ma- 
noeuvre, however,  land  was  again  sighted — this  time 
the  northern  end  of  Fayal  Island.  There  was  a 
region  of  comparatively  clear  air  to  leeward  of  the 
island  which  enabled  us  to  see  it.  Again  we  breathed 
more  easily — Horta,  where  one  of  our  base  ships  was 
at  anchor,  must  be  just  around  the  corner.  We  lost 
no  time  in  heading  for  the  beach,  rounded  the  island 
through  the  very  rough  air  tumbling  down  from  the 


THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S 

mountains,  and  then  headed  for  a  landing.  .  It  was 
too  thick  ahead  to  determine  whether  Horta  was 
there  or  not,  but  as  soon  as  we  had  landed  and  taxied 
in  a  few  minutes,  it  was  evident  that  we  were  in  the 
wrong  bight.  Again  we  took  the  air,  rounded  the 
next  point,  and  caught  sight  of  the  Columbia  less 
than  a  mile  away  just  before  the  fog  swept  in  and  hid 
her  completely  from  view.  It  was  only  a  matter  of  a 
few  seconds'  time  to  pick  her  up  again  and  to  land 
close  by  the  stern.  The  landing  was  made  at  1 :23. 

We  were  safe  in  a  snug  harbour  at  last,  fifteen 
hours  and  eighteen  minutes  from  Trepassey  Bay, 
Newfoundland,  or  fifteen  hours  and  thirteen  minutes 
actual  flying,  counting  out  the  time  on  the  water  after 
our  first  landing  in  the  wrong  bight.  Our  average 
speed  for  the  entire  run  was  about  seventy-nine 
knots,  or  ninety  statute  miles  per  hour. 

The  crew  needed  sleep,  but  nothing  else;  the  plane 
was  in  excellent  condition  except  for  a  few  very 
minor  repairs  required. 

As  we  ascended  the  gangway  of  the  Columbia  the 
crew  gave  us  a  hearty  cheer.  It  was  quite  a  surprise 
to  us,  as  it  was  our  first  realization  that  people  at 
large  considered  the  flight  as  a  great  feat. 

The  skipper  insisted  on  my  taking  his  bed  while  he 
slept  on  a  cot;  we  were  all  treated  like  kings.  Bands 
from  Horta  were  serenading  us,  bouquets  of  flowers 
were  sent  out  from  the  city,  and  many  congratula- 
tory messages  were  received  by  radio  and  by  cable. 


CHAPTER  IV 

TO  PONTA  DELGADA — TO  LISBON — AND  TO  PLYMOUTH 

ATER  a  good  night's  sleep,  the  trip  to  Ponta 
Delgada,  about  150  miles,  occupied  our 
attention;  but  our  experience  at  Chatham 
was  repeated — the  crew  and  the  N.C.4  were  ready 
long  before  the  weather  allowed  a  start. 

Our  stay  at  Horta  from  the  17th  to  the  20th  was 
pleasant  enough  but  all  hands  were  champing  at  the 
bit  to  be  on  the  way.  Then,  too,  we  were  much  wor- 
ried about  the  fate  of  N.C.S  with  Commander  Tow- 
ers and  his  crew.  N.C.1  was  picked  up  in  a  few 
hours  so  that  their  safety  no  longer  gave  us  any 
anxiety;  but  it  seemed  as  though  N.C.S  never  would 
be  located.  When  they  were  finally  reported  off 
Ponta  Delgada  under  their  own  power  our  gloom 
disappeared  at  once.  The  water  cruise  of  N.C.S 
was  a  triumphant  demonstration  of  courage,  expert 
seamanship,  and  the  seagoing  qualities  of  the  sea- 
plane hulls.  Sixty  hours  in  a  gale  of  wind  and  thirty 
to  forty  foot  waves,  adrift  in  a  machine  designed  for 
entirely  different  surroundings,  the  N.C.S  overcame 
all  difficulties  and  arrived  at  port  safely!  I  was 
very  thankful  that  we  had  been  fortunate  enough  to 
get  that  glimpse  through  the  fog  of  the  rocky  surf- 
bound  beach  of  Flores. 

While  waiting  at  Horta  the  report  came  in  of  the 

213 


214        THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S 

attempt  of  the  two  airplanes  to  make  an  ocean  flight 
by  the  Newfoundland-Ireland  route.  One  smashed, 
the  other  got  away — then  silence.  Nothing  was  heard 
except  wild  rumours.  We  were  fervently  hoping  that 
the  pilot  and  navigator  would  be  picked  up  by  some 
ship.  Of  course  we  were  hoping  against  their  suc- 
cessfully effecting  the  first  transatlantic  flight;  but 
men  that  will  embark  on  an  enterprise  like  that  know- 
ing that  weather  conditions  were  unfavourable  are 
too  brave  and  courageous,  even  if  perhaps  foolhardy, 
to  be  otherwise  than  admired. 

The  weather  settled  finally  on  the  afternoon  of  the 
19th  and  preparation  was  made  for  a  daylight  start. 
At  daylight,  however,  ram  squall  chased  rain  squall 
over  the  mountains  and  all  around  us.  More  pa- 
tience was  required.  Incidentally,  I  have  never  heard 
"patience"  mentioned  as  one  of  the  requisite  quali- 
ties of  an  aviator's  make-up.  It  should  be.  That 
quality  has  to  be  more  frequently  exercised  and  for 
longer  periods  than  any  other. 

The  weather  at  Horta  and  along  the  course  to 
Ponta  Delgada  ceased  "squalling"  later,  and  at  12:39 
G.M.T.  on  the  20th  we  were  once  more  winging 
onward,  again  with  a  strong  favouring  wind.  We 
found  the  air  so  rough  along  the  southern  side  of 
Pico  that  the  course  was  laid  about  eight  miles  off 
shore  where  it  was  smoother  but  none  too  comfort- 
able. For  the  third  time  this  trip  we  passed  over 
the  destroyer  Robinson;  the  first  time  on  the  Halif  ax- 
Trepassey  leg  as  a  regular  station  ship,  the  second 
while  she  was  on  her  way  to  the  Azores;  this  time 
bound  from  Horta  to  Ponta  Delgada.  She  left 


THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S        215 

about  one  half  hour  ahead  of  us  and  we  beat  her  to 
the  latter  place  by  about  five  and  a  half  hours,  a  dis- 
tance of  150  miles. 

The  flight  was  uneventful.  We  left  Pico  and  San 
Jorge  behind;  Terceira  lingered  in  sight  a  little  longer. 
Visibility  was  excellent  from  1,000  feet;  the  destroy- 
ers' smoke  was  sighted  twenty-five  miles  away.  As 
soon  as  they  sighted  us  the  smoke  would  be  discon- 
tinued and  we  would  lose  sight  of  them  until  very 
close.  Their  wake  was  lost  in  the  white  caps  of  a 
fairly  rough  sea  and  their  colour  blended  in  with  the 
background  of  water.  San  Miguel  soon  loomed  in 
sight  and  with  our  ninety-knot  gait  it  was  a  few  min- 
utes only  before  the  town  and  harbour  of  Ponta 
Delgada,  with  many  ships  lying  at  their  moorings, 
spread  itself  beneath.  A  wide  circle  to  meet  the 
wind,  a  gusty  descent,  a  pretty  landing,  and  we  were 
soon  safe  in  the  smooth  water  behind  the  break- 
water. 

As  the  exhaust  of  the  engines  subsided  we  heard 
a  new  noise,  one  that  brought  back  memories  of 
New  Year's  Eve  in  New  York.  Whistles  were 
blowing,  all  ships  were  full-dressed,  and  as  we  ap- 
proached our  buoy  we  could  see  thousands  of  cheer- 
ing people  lining  the  rails  and  the  seawall  and  the 
shore.  It  dawned  on  us  that  this  was  all  a  welcome 
to  us.  Somebody  said:  "These  people  must  think 
we  have  done  something."  Events  following  im- 
mediately afterward  deepened  that  impression.  Rear- 
Admiral  Jackson,  Commander  of  the  U.  S.  Naval 
Forces  in  the  Azores,  greeted  us  at  the  landing,  took 
us  in  hand,  and  we  were  presented  to  the  Governor; 


216        THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S 

then  the  movies  had  their  turn,  and  I  had1  my  first 
experience  of  "greeting  the  cheering  populace" 
from  a  balcony. 

After  a  late  lunch  the  crews  of  the  battered  N.C.3 
and  the  N.C.4  attended  a  beautiful  reception  given 
by  the  Governor.  There  was  a  fine-looking  body 
of  men  there,  and  speeches  and  wine  were  in  order, 
but  as  the  former  were  all  in  Portuguese,  we  could 
really  appreciate  only  the  latter.  After  reading  the 
translation  of  the  Governor's  speech  it  was  agreed 
that  we  were  fortunate  in  not  understanding  any  of 
it  (except  "President  'Weelson'")  at  the  time,  for 
it  saved  us  considerable  embarrassment.  It  was 
couched  in  such  complimentary  terms  that  we  could 
not  have  helped  blushing. 

The  Admiral  put  us  up  in  the  "Admiralty"  and 
treated  us  royally.  After  dinner  he  gave  a  recep- 
tion and  dance  attended  by  all  the  notables.  We 
managed  very  well  with  Ponta  Delgada's  fair  ones; 
they  danced  surprisingly  well. 

The  following  day  one  of  the  motors  shirked  its 
duty  hi  attempting  a  getaway  and  a  postponement 
of  our  start  on  the  fourth  leg,  Ponta  Delgada  to 
Lisbon,  was  necessary.  In  order  to  make  Lisbon 
during  daylight  it  would  be  necessary  to  start  early 
in  the  morning.  Therefore  this  meant  a  twenty-four- 
hour  delay.  The  offending  motor  was  coerced  into 
a  better  line  of  behaviour  and  the  machine  was 
carefully  groomed,  but  the  following  morning  the 
roughness  of  the  sea  prevented  even  an  attempt  at  a 
start. 

In  fact,  we  were  in  Ponta  Delgada  five  days  more 


THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S        217 

before  the  weather  and  the  sea  were  sufficiently 
favourable  to  permit  our  leaving.  Once  or  twice 
during  that  period  it  might  have  been  possible  to  get 
off  the  water  without  damaging  the  plane,  but  we 
were  too  near  our  goal  to  take  foolish  chances  with 
the  Navy's  "last  hope"  for  the  sake  of  completing  the 
flight  a  day  or  two  sooner.  This  was  one  of  the  most 
anxious  times  of  the  entire  trip.  We  were  not  wor- 
ried about  our  next  flight,  but  were  afraid  that  some 
small  boat  might  run  into  the  plane  at  its  moorings 
and  damage  it  badly. 

At  last,  on  the  26th,  conditions  looked  favourable 
for  a  start  on  the  following  morning. 

The  start  was  planned  for  6  A.  M.,  but  was  delayed 
on  account  of  dirt  in  the  gasoline  and  in  the  car- 
buretor, and  was  not  finally  made  until  10:18.  The 
swells  were  quite  high,  but  as  N.C.4  was  two  thou- 
sand pounds  under  her  "full-load"  weight  she  took 
the  air  with  but  a  few  jolts.  The  area  in  which  a 
getaway  was  possible  was  so  small  that  we  had  been 
rather  anxious  about  it  all,  and  it  was  a  great  relief  to 
find  ourselves  in  the  air  with  the  machine  intact. 

A  favouring  wind  of  about  twenty  knots  was  blow- 
ing and  visibility  was  good,  but  thick  clouds  were 
covering  the  mountains. 

After  leaving  Ponta  Delgada  and  the  Island  of  San 
Miguel  behind,  the  first  destroyer  on  our  line  was 
sighted  dead  ahead,  but  just  why  it  was  picked  up 
in  that  position  I  have  never  understood,  because  at 
the  time  we  were  making  some  seven  or  eight  de- 
grees to  the  right  of  the  proper  course.  On  account 
of  this  error  Number  2  destroyer  was  barely  visible 


218        THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S 

when  abeam,  about  fifteen  miles  away,  and,  Number 

3  was  missed  altogether. 

I  could  not  figure  out  the  cause  of  this  wandering 
away  from  the  line,  but  headed  more  to  the  north- 
ward with  the  hope  of  seeing  Number  4.  The 
thought  came  to  me  that  in  case  we  saw  no  more 
destroyers  at  all,  the  coast  of  Portugal  stretched  a 
long  way  to  the  north  of  Lisbon,  and  to  the  south, 
if  we  missed  Portugal,  there  was  Africa  which,  with 
our  gasoline  supply,  we  should  be  able  to  reach,  so 
that  if  the  motors  held  out  we  ought  to  be  able  to 
make  some  port. 

The  radio  compass  then  showed  its  usefulness.  A 
bearing  taken  on  Number  4  indicated  her  to  be 
twenty  degrees  off  our  port  bow.  Some  minutes 
later  another  bearing  indicated  her  as  forty-five 
degrees  off  the  port  bow. 

We  then  changed  course  still  more  to  the  left  or 
toward  the  north,  and  it  was  not  long  before  Number 

4  was  sighted  off  our  port  bow.     It  was  a  great  relief 
to  be  back  on  our  line  once  more.     The  rest  of  the 
crew  had  been  too  busy  to  notice  whether  we  were 
picking  up  destroyers  or  not. 

Later  on  I  discovered  that  the  compass  had  been 
jarred  out  of  its  position  an  amount  equal  to  the 
original  error  hi  our  course.  This  had  probably 
occurred  when  we  were  bouncing  on  top  of  the  swells 
in  making  the  getaway  from  Ponta  Delgada,  al- 
though it  was  not  noticed  at  the  time. 

A  little  later  a  rain  squall  of  considerable  area 
appeared  directly  in  our  course,  and  it  was  necessary 
to  head  forty  degrees  to  the  left  for  about  eight  min- 


THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S 

utes  in  order  to  pass  around  it;  but  with  another 
change  to  bring  us  back  to  the  line  the  next  de- 
stroyer was  picked  up  exactly  where  it  was  supposed 
to  be.  Then  while  passing  over  No.  7,  which  was  our 
old  friend  the  Robinson — this  making  the  fourth 
time  the  N.C.4  had  passed  over  her  on  the  trans- 
atlantic flight — there  were  two  rain  squalls,  one 
off  the  starboard  and  one  off  the  port  bow,  but  we 
passed  between  them  without  having  to  change  our 
course. 

The  visibility  became  very  poor,  and  our  altitude, 
which  had  been  about  one  thousand  feet,  was  re- 
duced to  six  hundred  feet.  Up  to  this  time  the  speed 
made  had  been  about  eighty-eight  knots,  thanks  to 
the  wind,  and  the  air  had  been  comparatively  free 
from  bumps. 

As  we  continued  eastward  the  wind  gradually 
dropped,  the  whitecaps  disappeared,  and  no  disturb- 
ance of  the  water  could  be  seen  except  the  long 
grounds  well.  Smooth  water  is  much  to  be  pre- 
ferred to  a  strong  even  if  favouring  wind,  because 
the  ever-present  possibility  of  having  to  land  keeps 
a  flyer  more  or  less  at  a  tension. 

In  other  words,  it  is  more  comfortable  to  fly  over 
water  on  which  you  know  an  easy  landing  can  be 
made  than  to  fly  over  water  so  rough  that  there  will 
be  a  probability  of  breaking  something  in  case  of  a 
forced  landing,  and  a  certainty  of  not  being  able  to 
rise  again. 

Number  10  destroyer  was  missing  and  Number  9 
and  Number  11  had  been  moved  together  to  equalize 
the  interval.  This  made  the  run  about  sixty-seven 


220        THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S 

miles  between  8  and  9, 9  and  11,  and  11  and  12.  That, 
however,  was  a  small  matter  with  the  compass  func- 
tioning properly  once  more. 

At  last  Number  14,  the  last  destroyer  in  the  line, 
was  passed,  and  a  few  minutes  later  we  picked  up 
the  rocky  coast  of  Portugal.  Everything  about  the 
seaplane  was  functioning  perfectly.  Our  speed  had 
slowed  down,  but  eighty-eight  knots  was  too  much 
to  expect  for  the  entire  run.  During  the  latter  part, 
in  order  to  make  up  for  the  falling  wind,  we  speeded 
up  the  engines  from  fifty -nine  knots,  air  speed,  to 
sixty-five  knots.  We  preferred  not  to  reach  Lisbon 
after  dark  although  the  pilots  were  perfectly  ready 
and  felt  confident  of  landing  without  mishap. 

From  questions  asked  after  the  completion  of  the 
flight  it  would  appear  that  most  people  are  under  the 
impression  that  the  entire  flight  was  one  "grand 
thrill"  from  start  to  finish.  As  a  matter  of  fact, 
a  good  deal  of  it  was  really  monotonous  as  has  been 
stated  before.  Perhaps  the  biggest  thrill  of  the 
whole  trip  was  experienced  as  we  passed  over  the 
beach  line  of  Portugal  and  realized  that  no  matter 
what  happened — even  if  we  crashed  on  landing — the 
transatlantic  flight,  the  first  one  in  the  history  of  the 
world,  was  an  accomplished  fact. 

During  this  run  we  had  become  so  accustomed  to 
travelling  long  distances  through  the  air  that  I 
drew  up  my  report  to  the  Navy  Department  before 
landing,  and  the  engineer  shaved  in  readiness  for  the 
reception  which  we  heard  was  going  to  be  held  on  the 
Rochester,  flagship  of  the  destroyer  force.  On  the 
strength  of  this  the  company  manufacturing  the 


THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S        221 

particular  brand  of  razor  used  for  the  operation,  sent 
me  a  razor  later  on  as  a  gift. 

At  7 :50  we  were  nearing  the  entrance  of  the  Tagus, 
still  carrying  a  slight  westerly  wind.  Then  a  few 
minutes  later  we  circled  and  landed  astern  of  the 
Shawmut  at  8:01.  The  time  elapsed  during  the 
flight  from  Ponta  Delgada  was  nine  hours  and  forty- 
three  minutes.  Our  average  speed  had  been  about 
eighty  knots. 

A  scene  greeted  us  similar  to  that  at  Ponta  Del- 
gada except  on  a  much  larger  scale.  In  addition  the 
men-of-war  anchored  off  the  city  gave  us  a  21 -gun 
salute,  a  salute  ordinarily  rendered  only  to  the  Presi- 
dent or  to  the  flag  of  a  foreign  country. 

Immediately  after  securing  the  seaplane  we  were 
taken  on  board  the  Rochester  and  with  great  cere- 
mony were  decorated  by  the  Portuguese  Government. 
The  personnel  of  the  N.C.4  were  a  little  tired  but 
otherwise  in  fine  shape.  In  fact,  some  of  us  decided 
to  go  ashore  and  see  the  town,  as  it  might  be  our  last 
chance.  The  N.C.4  was  in  its  usual  tiptop  condition, 
ready  for  another  all-day  run. 

The  Portuguese  were  very  enthusiastic  about  the 
flight,  and  desired  to  do  a  good  deal  in  the  way  of 
entertaining,  but  it  was  necessary  to  push  on  to 
Plymouth.  When  we  left,  on  the  morning  of  the 
30th  of  May,  it  was  necessary  to  cancel  several 
official  engagements  that  had  been  made  for  that 
day. 

The  start  for  Plymouth  was  made  at  5 :29.  Before 
heading  out  for  the  mouth  of  the  Tagus  we  circled 
over  the  city  as  a  parting  compliment  to  the  people 


222        THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S 

who  had  treated  us  so  kindly,  and  sent  a<  fare  well 
message  of  thanks  by  radio  to  the  American  minister. 

The  weather  was  favourable  except  for  small  rain 
squalls.  We  skirted  the  coast,  flying  about  ten  miles 
off,  and  everything  went  along  normally  until  7:05, 
when  we  discovered  a  water  or  a  gasoline  leak  in  the 
port  engine,  and  it  became  necessary  to  make  repairs. 

There  was  a  fair-sized  swell  running,  and  to  land  in 
that  would  endanger  our  chances  of  getting  off  again 
after  making  whatever  repairs  were  found  necessary. 
Therefore  we  headed  for  shore  to  find  smooth  water. 
We  found  it  in  what  we  discovered  was  the  Mondego 
River  and  landed  just  above  the  town  of  Figueira, 
Portugal,  at  7:21. 

The  river  was  full  of  sand  bars  and  while  taxiing 
about,  the  plane  ran  aground  but  was  got  off  into 
deeper  water  with  no  damage.  Meanwhile,  the  leak 
had  been  repaired — it  was  a  water  leak  which  was 
stopped  by  merely  putting  some  "radiator  prepara- 
tion" into  the  circulating  system. 

Having  been  forcibly  reminded  of  the  choked  con- 
dition of  the  river  when  we  ran  aground,  and  having 
come  to  a  realization  of  the  danger  of  damaging 
the  hull  on  one  of  the  small  bars,  it  was  decided  to 
secure  the  plane  temporarily  to  the  bank  of  the  river 
and  to  search  for  sufficient  depth  of  water  and  suffi- 
cient room  in  which  to  make  a  getaway.  The  Captain 
of  the  Port  arrived  on  the  scene  and  very  cordially 
assisted  us  by  furnishing  boats,  and  in  other  ways. 
He  sppke  Portuguese  and  French,  we  spoke  English. 
However,  the  engineer  boasted  a  very  limited  vocabu- 
lary of  French  words,  and  with  nay  still  more  limited 


THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  NAUTICAL  AVIATION— I 

(Above} — Commander  Richardson  and  other  investigators  have  studied 
pictures  like  this  very  closely  in  their  attempt  to  formulate  the  basic  prin- 
ciples of  the  new  science. 

(Below} — Professor  Langley  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  came  to  grief 
when  he  tried  to  fly  in  this  machine,  which  came  to  be  known  as  "Langley 's 
Folly."  Years  after  the  death  of  the  disappointed  inventor  Curtiss  vindi- 
cated his  ideas  by  actually  flying  in  the  old  machine  at  Hammondsport. 


THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  NAUTICAL  AVIATION— II 

(Above) — Glenn  Curtiss  won  the  Scientific  American  Trophy  by  flying 
this  machine  for  one  mile,  July  4,  1908.  It  was  then  called  the  June  Bug. 
When  fitted  with  floats,  as  shown,  and  re-christened  the  Loon,  she  was 
unable  to  fly. 

(Below) — The  first  successful  hydroaeroplane,  flown  at  San  Diego  in  1912. 


CHRISTENING  THE  AMERICA,  ASPIRANT  FOR 

TRANSATLANTIC  HONOURS 

(Above) — Miss  Masson  stands  sponsor  with  a  ribbon  and  horseshoe- 
decked  bottle  of  wine.  Mr.  Glenn  Curtiss  stands,  at  her  right  and  Lieut. 
Porte  of  the  Royal  Navy,  the  prospective  pilot,  stands,  hat  in  hand,  at  the 
America's  bow 

(Below) — The  bottle  is  broken  and  Lieut.  Porte  dodges,  to  the  amuse- 
ment of  the  soectators 


THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S       223 

command  of  the  language  we  managed  to  get 
along. 

From  our  investigation  of  the  river  and  from  the 
the  general  tenor  of  the  Captain  of  the  Port's  verbose 
explanation  it  was  apparent  that  a  wait  for  high  tide, 
which  would  occur  at  about  2  p.  M.,  was  necessary. 

We  were  the  guests  of  that  same  Captain  of  the 
Port  for  lunch.  He  presented  us  to  the  "President" 
of  the  town,  who  congratulated  us  most  heartily 
and  then  offered  to  turn  over  to  us  the  whole  town 
or  any  portion  of  it  if  we  had  any  use  for  it. 

Two  destroyers  had  arrived  off  the  mouth  of  the 
river  in  response  to  our  radio  calls;  one  of  the  skippers 
came  ashore  in  his  small  boat  through  a  breaking 
surf — the  natives  had  assured  us  that  the  passage 
could  not  be  made  at  that  stage  of  the  tide.  This 
was  another  exemplification  of  the  fact  that  destroyer 
officers  delight  in  doing  things  ordinary  mortals  find 
impossible. 

We  discussed  with  this  officer  the  details  of  the 
remainder  of  the  trip  and  decided  to  make  a  stop 
for  the  night  at  Ferrol,  Spain,  as  it  was  clearly  im- 
practicable to  reach  Plymouth  before  dark. 

The  tide  having  risen  sufficiently  high  we  finally 
left  the  water  at  1 :38  p.  M. ;  there  was  a  light  breeze 
in  our  favour  and  the  weather  was  beautiful  except 
for  numerous  squalls  of  small  area  which  required  an 
occasional  change  of  course.  We  kept  near  the  coast- 
line where  the  air  was  generally  clearest  and  where 
the  scenery  was  much  more  enjoyable.  Our  power 
plant  was  in  excellent  condition,  the  leak  having  been 
entirely  stopped.  Our  radio  apparatus  was  function- 


224        THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S 

ing  finely  as  usual,  and  we  intercepted  many  air  con- 
versations, most  of  them  in  Portuguese  or  Spanish. 

Off  Cape  Finisterre  we  encountered  a  strong, 
favouring  wind  and  were  able  to  beat  our  estimated 
time  of  arrival  at  Ferrol,  made  two  hours  before,  by 
fifteen  minutes.  Ferrol  is  surrounded  by  high  hills, 
and  though  the  harbour  is  very  beautiful  the  air  is  de- 
cidedly troublesome.  We  circled  over  thousands  of 
the  townspeople,  who  had  flocked  to  the  docks  and 
seawall,  then  landed  and  secured  to  a  convenient 
buoy  to  wait  for  a  destroyer. 

One  arrived  a  few  minutes  later  and  the  personnel 
bunked  on  her  for  the  night.  No  repairs  to  the  sea- 
plane were  necessary.  The  Spanish  officials  were 
very  polite,  making  calls  of  courtesy  and  offering 
us  every  assistance.  The  weather  forecast  for  the 
next  morning  was  slightly  unfavourable,  but  we  de- 
cided to  proceed  in  spite  of  it. 

We  left  at  6:27,  on  the  morning  of  May  31st,  and 
after  clearing  the  harbour  encountered  rain  for  forty 
minutes,  the  thick  weather  and  frequent  squalls  re- 
quiring many  changes  in  our  course.  In  fact,  at  one 
time  the  squalls  were  coming  so  thick  and  fast  that 
the  pilots  started  to  take  matters  in  their  own  hands 
and  to  steer  their  own  courses.  For  a  while  I  allowed 
them  to  do  this  and  endeavoured  to  keep  track  of 
their  twists  and  turns  until  I  finally  gave  it  up  as  a 
bad  job  and  made  them  follow  the  courses  given  to 
them  in  spite  of  rain  and  "bumps." 

Visibility  was  poor  all  the  way  across  the  Bay  of 
Biscay  and  we  missed  four  of  the  six  destroyers  sta- 
tioned between  Ferrol  and  Plymouth.  But  the 


THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S       225 

water  was  smooth  and  the  French  coast  not  so  far 
off  our  starboard  hand  that  there  was  any  occasion 
to  worry  over  not  sighting  the  destroyers. 

We  edged  off  to  the  right  of  the  course  in  order  to 
be  certain  of  not  missing  Ushant,  the  northwestern 
corner  of  France,  and  eventually  sighted  Ras  Point 
which  is  to  the  southward  of  Brest.  And  then  as  a 
compliment  to  the  Commander  of  U.  S.  Naval  Forces 
in  France  who  had  sent  us  several  congratulatory 
messages  we  flew  over  the  harbour  of  Brest,  circled, 
then  came  out  and  continued  on  to  Plymouth. 

The  country  we  saw  below  us  was  very  picturesque, 
but  the  weather  outside  was  so  thick  that  we  came 
down  to  within  a  few  feet  of  the  water  for  better 
visibility. 

Leaving  France  behind  we  ran  into  an  increasing 
head  wind  while  crossing  the  Channel,  the  thick  haze 
clearing  somewhat  as  we  reached  mid-channel. 
Then,  nearly  two  hours  after  leaving  Ushant,  the 
hills  around  Plymouth  were  sighted  dead  ahead. 
Several  British  seaplanes  had  gone  out  to  meet  us 
but  we  missed  them  on  account  of  the  fog. 

A  quick  climb  was  made  to  1,500  feet  in  order  to 
pick  out  a  suitable  landing  place,  then  we  landed  in 
smooth  water  at  1:26  and  taxied  up  to  our  buoy. 

The  job  was  finished. 


CHAPTER  V 

CONCLUSION     OP     THE     TRIP — GLAD     HANDS — SOBER 
THOUGHTS 

WE  HAD  a  wonderful  reception  from  the 
officials,  which  made  a  fitting  climax  to 
the  entire  trip.  The  heartiness  of  the  con- 
gratulations showered  upon  us  proved  the  sports- 
manship of  the  British.  The  crew  of  the  N.C.4  was 
in  better  health  than  at  the  time  of  the  start  from 
Rockaway  Point,  and  the  good  condition  of  the  sea- 
plane proves  the  excellent  serviceability  of  that  type 
of  flying  craft.  Our  Liberty  motors  had  given  a 
marvellous  performance.  Three  of  them  were  the 
same  ones  first  installed  at  Rockaway;  the  fourth 
had  been  put  in  at  Trepassey  Bay. 

Immediately  upon  landing  we  were  taken  to  the 
Rochester  which  had  preceded  us  from  Lisbon  and 
were  presented  to  several  notables.  Then  we  went 
ashore  in  order  to  be  received  officially  on  the  "  Ply- 
mouth Rock"  by  the  city  officials. 

Up  to  this  time  I  had  been  under  the  impression 
that  our  own  Massachusetts  town  boasted  the  only 
Plymouth  Rock  in  existence;  but  here  there  was  an- 
other one,  a  slab  of  rock  laid  down  on  the  spot  from 
which  the  first  Pilgrims  embarked  on  the  Mayflower 
in  1620. 

The  ceremony  was  very  dignified  and  impressive. 

226 


THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S 

After  this  they  escorted  us  on  a  sort  of  triumphal 
parade  through  the  city,  and  then  we  were  guests 
of  honour  at  a  beautiful  luncheon. 

The  next  morning  all  of  us,  including  the  crews 
of  N.C.I  and  N.C.3,  who  had  come  from  the  Azores 
by  sea  instead  of  by  air,  left  Plymouth  for  London. 
I  will  not  attempt  to  describe  the  many  banquets 
and  other  honours  that  were  tendered  us.  Perhaps 
the  two  most  important  of  these  were  a  luncheon 
at  the  House  of  Commons  where  we  had  the  honour 
and  pleasure  of  meeting  H.  R.  H.  the  Prince  of  Wales 
and  many  other  famous  men  whom  we  had  heard  of 
but  never  seen,  and  the  ceremony  of  being  decorated 
with  the  Royal  Air  Force  Cross.  Although  the  King 
awarded  the  decorations  he  himself  was  not  present. 

After  a  week  of  gaieties  in  London  we  were  ordered 
to  Paris.  Although  it  could  not  be  discovered  by  a 
mere  reading  of  the  orders,  our  verbal  instructions 
were  simply  to  have  a  good  time  until  we  were  tired, 
then  to  proceed  home  by  way  of  a  steamer  sailing 
from  Brest. 

These  orders  were  carried  out.  The  French  people 
were  very  enthusiastic  about  our  flight  and  enter- 
tained us  royally,  but  strange  to  say  all  of  us  were 
ready  to  leave  even  before  the  week  was  over  which 
we  had  agreed  upon  as  our  limit.  To  go  home 
seemed  the  most  desirable  thing  that  could  happen 
to  us.  I  could  not  help  thinking  how  much  more 
anxious  to  go  home  must  the  people  be  who  had  been 
over  there  for  many  months,  nor  help  feeling  a  deep 
sympathy  for  those  who  were  still  being  held  on 
the  other  side. 


228        THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S 

While  in  Paris  we  met  President  Wilson.  <He  con- 
gratulated us  but  warned  us  "not  to  get  too  high  for 
the  higher  you  get  the  harder  the  fall  will  be."  We 
also  Jhad  the  good  fortune  to  meet  the  others  of 
the  "Big  Four,"  Clemenceau,  Lloyd-George,  and 
Orlando. 

We  counted  ourselves  in  luck  in  getting  passage  in 
a  comfortable  steamer  and  finally  arrived  back  in 
New  York  on  the  27th  of  June,  exactly  one  month 
after  the  N.C.Jfs  arrival  at  Lisbon.  Here  we  ran 
once  more  into  a  regular  barrage  of  entertaining. 

The  celebrations  at  present  writing  have  not  yet 
ceased.  And  we  appreciate  it  all;  more  so  even  than 
the  many  honours  showered  on  us  abroad,  for  no 
matter  how  much  one  is  entertained  and  feted  by 
strangers  in  a  strange  land  the  plaudits  of  one's  own 
countrymen  in  one's  own  native  land  have  a  far 
greater  appeal.  They  carry  with  them  the  feeling 
that  something  worth  while  has  really  been  accom- 
plished and  that  our  own  people  approve  of  us. 

Since  the  N.C.4  landed  in  Lisbon  innumerable 
questions  have  been  asked  us  concerning  all  features 
of  the  flight.  The  answer  to  most  of  them  can  be 
found  in  what  has  been  said  above.  Some  of  the 
queries  have  not  been  covered  and  I  will  put  them 
down  here  and  endeavour  to  give  the  correct  answers. 

"Is  the  N.C.  type  of  seaplane  suitable  for  trans- 
oceanic fly  ing?" 

It  is  not.  Seaplanes  must  be  built  of  far  greater 
size  before  a  regular  service  across  the  Atlantic  could 
meet  with  any  success.  The  hulls  were  very  sea- 
worthy as  N.C. 3  demonstrated,  but  during  her  200- 


THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S        229 

mile  trip  on  the  water  the  crew  were  far  from  com- 
fortable and  were  continuously  in  danger  of  capsizing. 
"How  do  you  like  the  Liberty  motor? " 
After  the  experiences  of  this  flight  and  particularly 
after  the  long  night  passed  through  between  Tre- 
passey  Bay  and  the  Azores,  when  every  exhaust 
valve  was  spouting  out  its  flame  without  a  miss,  my 
faith  and  confidence  in  the  Liberty  is  higher  than  in 
any  other  motor  of  anything  approaching  its  power. 
"Did  your  radio  outfit  work  successfully?" 
Something  has  already  been  said  of  the  distances 
of  sending  and  of  receiving  messages.  We  undoubt- 
edly broke  many  previous  distance  records  estab- 
lished by  seaplane  sets.  When  one  takes  into  con- 
sideration the  small  space  and  the  small  weight  al- 
lowed for  such  an  installation  on  a  seaplane,  the  per- 
formance was  really  remarkable.  The  radio  com- 
pass, or  direction  finder,  also  proved  itself  of  great 
assistance,  and  indicated  its  immense  value  for 
future  long-distance  flights  when  it  has  been  more 
fully  developed.  In  fact,  I  look  to  the  radio  com- 
pass for  the  easiest  solution  of  transatlantic  naviga- 
tion problems. 

"Was  the  flight  worth  while?" 
The  answer  is  decidedly  in  the  affirmative.  The 
information  obtained  concerning  over-sea  flying  and 
concerning  the  big  machines  themselves  was  of  in- 
estimable value  for  future  operations  and  future  de- 
velopment. The  few  who  still  doubt  that  the  ex- 
pense was  justified  are  those  who  always  believe 
that  the  more  tangible  things  that  can  be  turned  to 
present  use  are  to  be  preferred  to  research  work  for 


230       THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S 

future  benefit.  Still  more  difficult  to  estimate  is 
the  value  to  Naval  Aviation  of  the  advertisement  re- 
ceived. The  flight  brought  home  to  the  people  all 
over  the  country  that  aviation  in  the  Navy  is  a  force 
to  be  considered,  and  one  capable  of  planning  and 
accomplishing  difficult  enterprises — an  asset  greatly 
appreciated  in  time  of  war. 

"What  were  your  general  impressions  of  the 
flight?" 

Perhaps  the  chief  impression  obtained  during  the 
actual  flight  was  the  apparent  smallness  of  the  At- 
lantic Ocean — it  appeared  to  have  shrunk  in  size. 
We  passed  over  it  so  quickly  that  it  was  impossible 
to  realize  the  great  distance  actually  travelled. 

The  chief  impression  received  at  Lisbon  was  the 
great  friendliness  of  the  Portuguese  people  for  any- 
thing and  everything  American.  This  was  notice- 
able at  the  Azores  as  well  as  in  Portugal  itself. 

We  were  impressed  in  England  by  the  hearty 
sportsmanship  of  the  British.  They  had  hoped  to 
capture  the  prize  of  making  the  first  ocean  flight 
themselves  but  they  did  not  let  that  interfere  in  the 
least  with  the  heartiness  of  their  reception  and  con- 
gratulations. 

In  France,  the  people  showed  great  enthusiasm 
for  all  things  connected  with  flying.  In  England 
also  the  same  sort  of  feeling  existed — shown  not  only 
in  the  interest  exhibited  in  aviation  matters  but  in 
the  way  big  things  are  being  accomplished  toward 
the  future  development  of  the  art.  It  was  depressing 
upon  our  return  to  this  country  to  find  that,  although 
considerable  interest  was  manifested,  that  interest  did 


THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S       231 

not  extend  to  the  point  of  furnishing  financial  backing 
sufficient  for  the  needs  of  aviation.  It  is  not  an  art 
that  can  advance  by  itself,  any  more  than  the  devel- 
opment of  the  submarine  could  have  taken  place 
by  itself  after  the  Holland  made  its  first  successful 
plunge. 

"Are  you  going  to  make  another  flight  across  the 
Atlantic?" 

Yes,  I  expect  to  do  so  inside  of  a  few  years  and  I 
will  take  my  wife  and  baby  with  me.  Before  that, 
however,  there  will  be  great  improvements  effected. 
Few  people  realize  what  improvements  can  and  will 
be  brought  about  in  the  near  future,  or  realize  what 
an  enormous  field  of  development  lies  before  us. 

While  at  luncheon  in  Paris,  I  had  the  pleasure 
of  meeting  some  of  the  foremost  designers  and  en- 
gineers of  aircraft.  Some  of  the  prophecies  they 
made  appeared  at  first  rather  visionary  even  to  me. 
But  any  one  in  the  present  age  of  new  and  startling 
inventions  who  says  positively  that  we  will  never 
attain  an  altitude  of  60,000  feet,  will  never  fly  at 
500  miles  an  hour,  or  will  never  be  able  to  cross  to 
Europe  in  the  forenoon  and  return  in  the  afternoon, 
is  a  most  courageous  person,  with  a  courage  similar 
to  that  of  those  doubters  in  the  olden  days  who  pro- 
claimed that  iron  or  steel  ships  would  never  be  suc- 
cessful. 

"In  view  of  the  interest  everywhere  manifested 
in  flying  why  are  not  the  people  as  a  whole  squarely 
behind  aviation  and  willing  to  push?" 

There  are  two  main  reasons:  ignorance  and  fear. 
People  are  inclined  to  think  of  flying  only  in  terms 


232        THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S 

of  looping,  side-slipping,  barrel-rolls,  and  tail-slides. 
They  forget  the  possibilities  of  the  big  machine  in 
carrying  tons  of  bombs  and  guns  or  of  cargo  and  pas- 
sengers. To  my  mind  it  would  be  far  better  to 
divert  much  of  the  energy  now  expended  in  hair- 
raising  stunting  exhibitions  to  efforts  toward  the  de- 
velopment of  safe  and  sane  and  useful  flying.  The 
people,  too,  do  not  realize  the  very  rapid  changes  and 
improvements  in  design,  which  make  it  imperative 
for  this  country  to  keep  at  least  abreast  of  the  others, 
unless  we  are  content  to  remain  hopelessly  behind 
and  be  in  a  far  worse  state  of  unpreparedness  in  the 
next  war  than  we  were  in  the  last. 

The  reason  for  their  fear  is  easily  understood. 
Accidents  in  airplanes  are  always  featured  in  the 
papers — if  one  occurs  in  Texas,  in  Norway,  or  in 
Australia,  we  hear  of  it.  If  automobile  accidents 
were  given  the  same  prominence,  there  would  be  room 
for  little  else  in  the  news  columns.  There  are  some 
pilots  with  whom  I  would  refuse  to  risk  my  life. 
But,  given  a  modern  machine  with  the  proper  at- 
tention paid  it,  and  a  skilful  but  conservative  flyer, 
it  is  as  safe  a  means  of  rapid  transit  as  an  automo- 
bile travelling  at  less  than  half  the  speed.  Think 
over  that  statement,  for  it  is  absolutely  true.  Nowa- 
days there  is  scarcely  ever  an  accident  in  an  airplane 
of  standard  type  due  to  fault  of  material — they  are 
all  due  to  the  inexperience  or  to  the  dare-devil  stunt- 
ing proclivities  of  the  pilot — the  pilot  who  "takes 
chances." 


PART  III 

THE  LOG  OF  THE  N.C.3 
BY 

COMMANDER  H.  C.  RICHARDSON 


CHAPTER  I 

PREVIOUS  ATTEMPTS  AT  TRANSATLANTIC  FLIGHT 

PRIOR  to  this  attempt  at  a  transatlantic  flight 
by  the  Navy  Department,  various  efforts 
had  been  made  for  a  trip  by  air  across  the 
Atlantic  Ocean.  The  earliest  actual  attempt  was 
made  by  Walter  Wellman  on  the  18th  of  October, 
1910.  Mr.  Wellman  at  that  time  was  a  special  cor- 
respondent for  the  Chicago  Record-Herald.  One  of 
the  assignments  which  had  been  given  him  was  a 
trip  by  airship  to  the  North  Pole,  for  the  purpose 
of  concluding  explorations  which  had  been  made  by 
him  some  years  previous  when  he  had  been  one  of 
the  parties  on  an  unsuccessful  attempt  to  reach  the 
Pole  by  boat  and  by  sledge.  An  unsuccessful  effort  to 
reach  the  Pole  had  been  attempted  in  May,  1894,  and 
another  in  the  fall  of  1898.  Mr.  Wellman  was  not 
discouraged  by  these  failures  and  set  about  prepara- 
tions for  a  third  trip,  but  before  these  preparations 
could  be  completed  he  was  beaten  to  the  goal  by 
Admiral  Peary. 

In  the  preparation  for  the  transatlantic  flight  Mr. 
Wellman  was  assisted  by  Mr.  Melvin  Vaniman,  an 
engineer  who  had  taken  a  great  interest  in  balloon 
construction  and  in  experimental  work  in  connection 
with  balloon  flights.  The  airship  designed  for  this 
flight  was  a  non-rigid  dirigible  type,  228  feet  in 

235 


236        THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S 

length  by  52  feet  in  diameter.  The  total  lifting 
capacity  was  twelve  tons.  Plans  called  for  the  start 
of  this  flight  from  Atlantic  City,  N.  J. 

Mr.  Wellman,  Mr.  Vaniman,  two  assistant  en- 
gineers, a  navigator,  and  a  wireless  operator  made  up 
the  crew.  Unfortunately  for  the  success  of  the  un- 
dertaking, it  was  very  foggy  at  the  time  of  starting 
and  the  gas  envelope  became  soaked  with  water. 
In  order  to  make  flight  possible  it  was  necessary 
to  throw  out  a  large  quantity  of  the  gasoline.  Due 
to  the  heavy  fog  it  was  impossible  to  see  far  enough 
ahead  to  distinguish  approaching  vessels,  and  a  very 
narrow  escape  from  collision  occurred  off  the  south 
shore  of  Long  Island. 

The  balloon  was  fitted  with  an  equilibrator  made  up 
of  steel  cable  and  drums  containing  gasoline,  inter- 
spersed with  wooden  blocks  to  provide  buoyancy. 
The  equilibrator  trailed  from  the  car  and  took  the 
place  of  additional  ballast.  During  the  flight,  it  was 
intended  that  this  equilibrator  should  control  the 
altitude  of  the  balloon.  Unfortunately,  it  produced 
a  motion  of  gas  bag  and  car  which  was  exceedingly 
unpleasant  and  caused  seasickness  among  the  mem- 
bers of  the  crew.  The  winds,  which  had  been  ex- 
pected to  help  the  machine  in  its  passage,  soon  be- 
came contrary  and  they  were  finally  thrown  out  of 
their  course  so  that  it  became  necessary  to  head  for 
the  Bermudas  instead  of  for  Ireland. 

One  of  the  motors  became  inoperative  and  when 
the  steamship  Trent  was  sighted  and  offered  assist- 
ance it  was  decided  to  abandon  the  ship.  This  was 
effected  with  difficulty,  as  it  was  necessary  for  all 


THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S       237 

members  of  the  crew  to  place  themselves  in  the  life- 
boat, and  as  the  gas  bag  rose  and  fell,  to  choose  the 
proper  instant  to  cut  the  supporting  cables  and  allow 
the  boat  to  drop  into  the  sea.  In  spite  of  the  hazards 
this  was  accomplished  successfully  and  the  crew 
picked  up  by  the  Trent.  The  balloon  had  to  be 
abandoned  and  was  a  total  loss. 

The  trip  was  a  failure  as  far  as  accomplishing  the 
desired  object,  but  a  new  world's  record  was  estab- 
lished for  balloon  travel.  The  balloon  was  in  the  air 
a  total  of  71|  hours  and  had  covered  in  that  time  a 
distance  estimated  at  1,008  miles.  The  principal 
cause  of  the  failure  was  lack  of  power  to  navigate 
against  unfavourable  winds,  due  to  the  insufficiency 
of  the  fuel  supply. 

In  1912,  preparations  were  made  for  another  trans- 
atlantic flight.  Mr.  Melvin  Vaniman  was  responsi- 
ble for  this  effort.  Funds  for  the  construction  of  the 
balloon  for  this  flight  were  supplied  by  the  Chamber 
of  Commerce  of  Akron,  Ohio,  and  by  the  Goodyear 
Tire  and  Rubber  Company.  The  balloon  was  con- 
siderably larger  than  the  one  used  by  Wellman  in 
his  effort.  The  total  length  of  the  gas  bag  was 
268  feet,  the  maximum  diameter  was  47  feet,  and 
the  total  gas  capacity  was  400,000  cubic  feet.  The 
car  was  placed  in  close  contact  with  the  bottom  of 
the  envelope.  The  balloon  was  fitted  with  two  100- 
horsepower  gasoline  engines  estimated  to  provide 
a  speed  of  thirty  miles  per  hour. 

The  machine  was  assembled  in  June,  1912,  and 
tests  were  made  at  Atlantic  City  on  July  2,  1912. 
In  the  final  test  the  balloon  caught  fire  and  Mr. 


238        THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S 

Vaniman  and  four  members  of  the  crew  were  killed. 
The  cause  was  never  determined,  but  it  was  due 
probably  to  sparks  from  the  motor  exhaust. 

Mr.  Vaniman's  purpose  in  attempting  this  flight 
was  to  call  attention  to  the  possibilities  of  the  dirigi- 
ble as  opposed  to  the  airplane. 

Interest  in  transatlantic  flight  was  next  stimulated 
by  means  of  a  prize  of  £10,000  offered  by  the  London 
Daily  Mail  and  published  April  1,  1913.  The  Daily 
Mail  had  previously  offered  similar  prizes  to  stimu- 
late efforts  to  cross  the  English  Channel  and  flights 
from  London  to  Paris.  These  flights  had  been  suc- 
cessfully accomplished,  and  the  next  big  and  spec- 
tacular flight  would  be  the  flight  across  the  Atlantic. 

The  next  project  for  transatlantic  flight  to  be 
started  in  America  was  financed  by  Rodman  Wana- 
maker.  Mr.  Wanamaker  furnished  the  funds  with 
which  Glenn  Curtiss  constructed  a  flying  boat  called 
the  America,  which  was  to  be  piloted  by  Lieut.  J.  C. 
Porte  of  the  British  Navy. 

The  machine  was  of  biplane  construction  with  an 
over  all  length  of  37|  feet.  The  span  of  the  upper 
wing  was  75  feet  10  inches.  The  total  load  to  be 
carried  was  5,000  pounds,  and  the  estimated  speed 
was  65  miles  per  hour.  The  power  plant  was  of 
two  Curtiss  OX-2  motors,  arranged  to  drive  tractor 
propellers.  The  pilots  and  all  controls  were  located 
in  a  small  cabin  in  the  boat  hull.  It  is  interesting 
to  note  that  this  was  the  first  two-motor  flying  boat 
attempted  in  this  country. 

The  America  was  built  at  the  Curtiss  plant  at 
Hammondsport  and  was  christened  by  Miss  Kather- 


THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S        239 

ine  Masson.  The  first  test  was  made  in  June,  1914. 
The  machine  got  away  very  rapidly  with  a  light  load, 
but  it  was  found  impossible  to  leave  the  water  with 
the  designed  load.  The  hull  of  the  boat,  which  is  of 
standard  Curtiss  construction,  was  developed  from 
the  lines  of  boats  which  had  previously  been  con- 
structed; but  it  had  a  stubbier  bow,  and  the  tail  from 
the  step  aft  was  of  elliptical  form.  These  modifica- 
tions made  it  drive  hard  and  as  a  result  attempts 
at  further  modifications  were  made  to  improve  its 
behaviour.  Various  methods  were  used.  Planing 
fins  were  built  at  the  sides  of  the  hull.  Submerged 
plates  were  tried  both  at  the  step  and  at  the  stern. 
Additional  floats  were  added  under  the  wing  motors, 
and  finally  a  third  motor  was  attached.  On  July  10th, 
a  flight  was  made  with  ten  men  on  board,  making 
what  was  then  a  world's  record  for  passenger  carry- 
ing. On  July  22nd,  tests  were  made  with  the  three- 
motor  arrangement  and  the  machine  got  away  with 
a  load  of  4,500  pounds.  Fuel  consumption  tests 
were  made  at  the  time  which  showed  a  gasoline  con- 
sumption of  about  Ij  times  the  estimated  consump- 
tion. It  was  therefore  decided  to  postpone  the  flight 
which  had  been  planned  for  August  to  some  time  in 
October,  to  allow  additional  experiments.  Shortly 
after  this  decision  was  made  the  World  War  started 
and  Lieutenant  Porte  was  recalled  to  take  up  his 
duties  with  the  British  Navy.  This  resulted  hi  an 
indefinite  postponement  of  the  entire  project. 

Probably  the  principal  cause  of  the  failure  of  the 
America  to  get  away  with  the  designed  load  was  the 
change  of  the  hull  aft  of  the  step.  While  the  ellip- 


240        THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S 

tical  sections  improved  the  flying  qualities,  they 
reduced  the  buoyancy  abaft  the  step,  making  the 
hull  trim  by  the  stern.  This  in  turn  gives  the  bottom 
at  the  bow  too  steep  an  angle  for  efficient  planing. 
Also  the  elliptical  lines  undoubtedly  produced  a  cer- 
tain amount  of  suction.  The  stubbiness  of  the  bow 
also  permitted  this  hull  to  sink  deeply  into  the  water, 
which  aggravated  the  difficulty.  The  hull  was  later 
re-designed,  using  a  flat  bottom  aft  of  the  step,  and 
this  made  it  possible  to  get  away  with  two  motors 
at  practically  the  desired  load.  After  these  changes 
had  been  made  the  America  was  purchased  by  the 
British  Navy  and  was  used  in  connection  with  train- 
ing of  pilots  for  the  Royal  Naval  Air  Service.  The 
H .16  and  F.5,  developed  by  the  British,  were  un- 
doubtedly the  outgrowth  of  these  trials,  in  which 
the  fins  at  the  side  of  the  hull  became  a  prominent 
feature. 

At  about  the  same  time  of  the  experiments  with 
the  America,  preparations  were  being  made  in  Eng- 
land for  competition  for  the  Daily  Mail  prize.  The 
only  experiments  to  gain  any  headway  whatever  were 
with  a  Martinsyde  monoplane,  which  was  to  have 
been  flown  by  Gustave  Hamel,  a  well-known  English 
aviator  who  had  made  several  record  trips  between 
London  and  Paris.  This  monoplane  was  to  have  a 
span  of  66  feet  with  the  chord  of  14|feet,  at  the  centre, 
tapering  to  10|  feet  at  the  wing  tips.  The  total  sup- 
porting area  was  750  square  feet.  Power  was  to  be 
supplied  by  a  250-horsepower  Sunbeam  engine.  Un- 
fortunately, Hamel  was  killed  in  a  trip  from  Paris  to 
London  when  a  Martinsyde  monoplane  in  which  he 


THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S        241 

was  flying  fell  into  the  English  Channel.  The  Mar- 
tinsyde  machine  was  not  completed  and  remained  for 
some  years  in  the  Martinsyde  factory. 

When  the  World  War  began  and  all  effort  was 
concentrated  on  the  production  of  airplanes  and  air- 
ships for  war  purposes,  the  Daily  Mail  prize  was  with- 
drawn. The  development  of  machines,  both  lighter- 
than-air  and  heavier  than-air,  since  that  time  has  been 
exceedingly  rapid,  although  no  machine  has  been 
built  for  the  express  purpose  of  attempting  a  flight  of 
the  length  of  the  transatlantic  flight.  But  there 
seems  to  be  little  doubt  that  if  the  war  had  not  in- 
tervened machines  would  have  been  developed  be- 
fore this  which  would  have  been  able  to  accomplish 
a  flight  of  this  length. 

About  the  time  the  America  was  undergoing  tests, 
a  German  aviator  by  the  name  of  Rheinold  Boehm 
made  a  flight  in  an  Albatross  biplane,  remaining  in 
the  air  twenty-four  hours  and  twelve  minutes  and 
covered  a  distance  of  approximately  1,150  miles.  It 
would  have  needed  only  a  small  increase  in  fuel 
capacity  to  fly  from  Newfoundland  to  the  Azores  in 
such  a  machine,  assuming  that  a  suitable  landing 
field  could  be  found  at  the  Azores. 

During  the  period  of  the  war  it  was  found  that 
delivery  of  American  planes  in  Europe  could  be 
greatly  expedited  if  they  could  be  taken  across  under 
their  own  power.  It  was  because  of  the  delay  in 
shipment  of  planes,  due  to  congestion  of  freight  and 
supplies  and  to  the  bulk  of  the  planes  when  packed 
for  shipment,  that  Admiral  Taylor  reached  his  con- 
clusion that  delivery  by  air  was  necessary. 


THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S 

General  interest  in  the  transatlantic  flight  was 
again  obtained  by  the  renewal  of  the  offer  by  the 
London  Daily  Mail  on  November  18th,  immediately 
after  the  Armistice  had  been  signed.  After  that  date 
many  European  and  American  manufacturers  took 
up  the  project,  and  special  planes  were  constructed 
to  be  used  for  this  flight.  However,  the  Navy  De- 
partment's effort  was,  as  previously  stated,  not  a 
separate  effort,  but  the  development  of  a  war  project, 
and  the  Navy  Department's  interest  was  in  the  in- 
formation to  be  gained  from  such  a  flight  and  not  in 
the  prize  which  had  been  offered. 


CHAPTER  II 

THE    AZORES    ROUTE    CHOSEN — COMMISSIONING    THE 
PLANES — EQUIPPING   THEM 

A  NUMBER  of  routes  for  the  transatlantic 
flight  were  possible,  but  the  final  decision  de- 
pended on  the  amount  of  fuel  required  and 
the  amount  which  could  be  carried. 

The  route  from  Newfoundland  to  Ireland  direct 
involved  about  1,670  nautical  miles,  1,933  statute 
miles,  traversing  a  region  in  which  there  were  almost 
always  storms  at  some  part  of  the  route,  and  also 
traversing  an  area  in  which  the  percentage  of  fog  is 
high.  It  was  early  found  that  the  N.C's  would 
have  to  refuel  at  sea  unless  a  gamble  was  made  on 
the  assistance  of  the  wind.  After  due  consideration 
this  was  considered  to  involve  too  many  uncertain- 
ties and  was  given  up. 

The  route  from  Rockaway  direct  to  the  Azores 
appeared  more  favourable,  because  the  weather  con- 
ditions are  generally  better,  and  fog  is  less  likely  than 
in  the  vicinity  of  Newfoundland,  but  the  run  of 
2,200  statute  miles  is  longer  than  that  to  Ireland,  and 
would  also  involve  refuelling  at  sea.  It  was  much 
favoured  by  nearly  all  the  pilots,  but  wiser  heads  pre- 
vailed. 

The  route  from  Newfoundland  to  the  Azores  is, 
excluding  the  Newfoundland,  Greenland,  Iceland, 

243 


244        THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S 

Ireland,  or  Scotland  route,  the  shortest  possible  land 
to  land,  and  even  in  a  calm  was  in  striking  distance 
for  the  N.C's.  Weather  conditions  are  generally 
good  along  this  route  and  the  wind  favours  if  the 
time  is  selected  with  due  regard  to  the  location  of 
high  and  low  barometer,  as  under  favourable  con- 
ditions the  wind  blows  down  the  lane  between  them 
in  a  favourable  direction  and  the  weather  is  generally 
good  along  the  lane.  Thus  a  non-stop  flight  to  the 
Azores  appeared  entirely  feasible,  and  the  leg  from  the 
Azores  to  the  mainland  at  Lisbon  is  shorter  and 
weather  conditions  are  generally  good. 

The  cruising  radius  of  the  N.C's  depended  on 
many  factors  which  had  to  be  determined  as  defi- 
nitely as  possible  prior  to  May  1st,  the  principal 
ones  being  fuel  consumption,  propeller  designs,  and 
the  best  flying  speed. 

Very  careful  studies  were  made  in  detail  and  these 
factors  were  carefully  estimated.  Based  on  these 
estimates  it  appeared  that  the  most  favourable  re- 
sults would  be  obtained  if  these  planes  were  flown  so 
that  the  "angle  of  the  wings"  was  7° to  the  path  of  the 
seaplane  through  the  air.  It  appeared  that  the 
greatest  radius  of  action  would  be  obtained  in  this 
way.  However,  it  was  also  found  that  almost  as 
good  results  would  be  obtained  using  5°  or  6°,  and 
these  angles  involved  greater  speed,  less  time  on 
the  run,  and  in  rough  air  might  be  even  more 
efficient  than  7°  because  the  power  of  control  would 
be  increased,  thus  making  it  easier  to  hold  a  steady 
course. 

Another  important  factor  is  the  propeller  efficiency, 


THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S        245 

for  this  determines  the  brake  horsepower  required 
of  the  engines.  This  problem  is  very  complex.  It 
depends  on  the  revolutions  of  the  engines,  the  speed 
of  advance,  the  form  of  the  propeller  and  its  loca- 
tion on  the  airplane.  A  propeller  that  would  be 
eminently  satisfactory  at  flying  speed  might  be  less 
efficient  when  getting  away  from  the  surface  at  a 
lesser  speed,  than  another  which  might  be  less  effi- 
cient at  flying  speed.  The  second  might  be  able  to 
lift  more  additional  load  of  gasoline  than  it  would 
eat  up  on  the  run  as  compared  with  the  first.  The 
time  available,  particularly  because  of  unfavourable 
air  conditions,  prevented  a  complete  or  exhaustive 
determination  of  this  difficult  problem,  but  suf- 
ficient tests  were  made  to  arrive  at  a  fairly  approxi- 
mate solution  and  a  fairly  exact  determination  of  the 
brake  horsepower  required.  Therefrom,  by  com- 
putation from  the  engine  characteristics  and  also 
from  runs  over  known  distances,  it  was  finally  deter- 
mined that  the  average  fuel  consumption  would  run 
about  eighty -two  to  eighty-five  gallons  per  mile  at 
seventy  to  seventy-five  miles  per  hour,  mean  speed. 
This  determination  depended  upon  experimental 
work  at  Dayton  and  Washington  with  high-com- 
pression engines  and  different  combinations  of  jets 
and  chokes  for  the  carburetors. 

From  these  determinations  and  also  the  maximum 
load  which  four  engines  could  get  off,  28,000  pounds, 
it  appeared  the  flight  from  Newfoundland  to  the 
Azores,  Trepassey  to  Horta,  1,200  miles  (nautical), 
could  be  made  hi  a  calm. 

Lieutenant-Commander  P.  N.  L.  Bellinger  and 


246        THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S 

Lieutenant  E.  F.  Stone  were  sent  to  Ne^rfoundland 
to  determine  the  best  point  for  starting,  and  after 
examining  a  number  of  harbours  reported  that 
Trepassey  was  most  favourable  but  far  from 
ideal. 

Toward  the  end  of  April,  it  appeared  that  the 
earliest  start  could  be  May  4th. 

Toward  the  end  of  April  the  Navy  Department 
officials  took  the  greatest  interest  in  the  prepara- 
tion and  everyone  was  most  solicitous  that  we  should 
have  every  assistance  possible.  The  Secretary  of  the 
Navy  was  in  Europe,  but  the  Assistant  Secretary, 
Mr.  Roosevelt,  represented  him  and  made  a  per- 
sonal trip  to  Rockaway,  acquainting  himself  with 
the  state  of  the  preparations  and  personally  making 
a  flight  under  about  as  rough  air  conditions  as  were 
experienced  in  any  of  the  flights  at  Rockaway.  He 
did  not  know  that  had  he  not  been  there  the  flight 
would  not  have  been  made,  nor  did  he  realize  from 
his  position  in  the  plane  just  how  rough  it  really  was, 
although  as  the  flight  was  made  in  the  N.C.2, 
in  which  he  was  seated  directly  behind  the  pilots, 
he  did  note  that  both  McCulloch  and  I  were  busy 
with  the  ailerons.  He  talked  to  each  of  us  per- 
sonally, showing  the  greatest  interest  in  all  phases 
of  the  flight,  and  giving  us  needed  encouragement. 
We  were  nearly  worn  out  with  the  constant  work  and 
worry  of  the  preparations. 

On  May  3rd,  at  10:00  A.  M.,  the  N.C.I,  N.C.3,  and 
N.C.4)  were  regularly  placed  in  commission. 

This  was  an  historic  event  for  it  was  the  first  case 
in  the  history  of  the  United  States  Navy  in  which 


THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S        247 

seaplanes  had  been  formally  placed  in  commission 
and  in  which  they  had  formed  a  definite  division  of 
the  Fleet. 

Commander  John  H.  Towers,  U.  S.  N.,  was  placed 
in  command  of  N.C.  Seaplane  Division  One,  by 
authority  of  Bureau  of  Navigation  telegram  to  the 
Commandant  of  the  Third  Naval  District. 

Captain  Powers  Symington,  U.  S.  N.,  Chief  of 
Staff  to  the  Commandant,  in  the  presence  of  the 
assembled  crews  of  the  seaplanes,  the  Commanding 
Officer  and  Executive  Officer  of  the  Naval  Air  Sta- 
tion, Rockaway,  the  Superintending  Constructor 
and  his  assistants  in  charge  of  the  construction  of  the 
N.C.  seaplanes,  and  many  others,  read  the  telegram 
and  gave  orders  to  "hoist  the  colours."  The  bugle 
sounded  "colours."  All  hands  stood  at  salute  until 
"colours"  was  finished. 

Commander  Towers  then  read  his  orders  placing 
him  in  command  of  N.C.  Seaplane  Division  One,  and 
giving  him  the  status  of  a  Commander  of  a  division 
of  the  Fleet. 

This  formal  commissioning  of  the  planes  definitely 
determined  the  crews  of  the  planes,  which  informa- 
tion the  reporters,  of  which  there  were  a  great  many 
at  Rockaway,  had  been  trying  in  every  way  to  get 
advance  information.  They  had  made  many  amus- 
ing conjectures  and  had  played  up  one  pilot  after  the 
other  attempting  to  pull  the  Department's  leg. 
These  reporters  were  all  very  fine  men  and  patiently 
met  the  rebuffs  of  Commander  Towers  who,  under 
Departmental  instructions,  was  able  to  give  them 
only  limited  information. 


248       THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S 

All  officers  attached  to  the  division  were  given  the 
status  of  officers  attached  to  seagoing  ships. 

The  crews  of  the  seaplanes  were  as  follows: 
N.C.3  Flagship. 

Commander  John  H.  Towers,  U.S.N.,  Com- 
manding and  Navigator,  and  in  Com- 
mand N.C.  Seaplane  Division  One. 

Pilots — Commander  H.  C.  Richardson  (C.  C.), 
U.S.N.;  Lieutenant  David  H.  McCulloch, 
U.S.N.R.F. 

Radio  Operator — Lieutenant- Commander  R. 
A.  Lavender,  U.S.N.  Pilot  Engineer- 
Boatswain  L.  R.  Moore,  U.S.N.  Reserve 
Engineer — Lieutenant  Brenton  Rhodes, 
U.S.N.  *Reserve  Navigator — Lieutenant- 
Commander  R.  A.  Byrd,  U.S.N. 
N.C.I: 

Commanding  Officer  and  Navigator — Lieu- 
tenant-Commander P.  N.  L.  Bellinger, 
U.S.N. 

Pilots — Lieutenant-Commander  M.  A.  Mits- 
cher,  U.S.N.;  Lieutenant  L.  T.  Barin, 
U.S.N.R.F. 

Radio  Operator — Lieutenant  (Junior  Grade) 
Harry  Sadenwater,  U.S.N.R.F. 

Pilot  Engineer— Machinist  R.  Christensen, 
U.S.N. 

Reserve  Engineer— C.M.M.,  R.  Kesler,  U.S.N . 

*Special  Observer:    Ensign  C.  J.  McCarthy, 
U.S.N.R.F. 

*To  Trepassey  only. 


THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S        249 

N.C.4' 

Commanding  Officer  and  Navigator — Lieuten- 
ant-Commander Albert  C.  Read,  U.S.N. 

Pilots— Lieutenant  Elmer  F.  Stone,  U.S.C.G.; 
Lieutenant  Walter  Hinton,  U.S.N. 

Radio  Operator — Ensign  Herbert  C.  Rodd, 
U.S.N.R.F. 

Pilot  Engineer — Lieutenant  J.  G.  Breese, 
U.S.N.R.F. 

Reserve  Engineer — C.M.  M.  E.  C.  Rhodes, 
U.S.N. 

*Reserve  Engineer — C.  Special  Mechanic,  E.  H. 
Howard,  U.S.N.R.F. 

The  equipment  of  the  seaplanes  was  very  complete. 

Each  member  of  the  crew  was  provided  with  a  soft 
helmet  and  goggles,  a  special  one-piece  leatheroid 
suit,  water  and  airproof ,  lined  with  fleece,  a  pair  of 
fleece-lined  gauntlets,  and  if  he  desired  a  pair  of  soft 
leather  fleece-lined  boots,  lacing  high  outside  of 
regular  shoes  and  leg  of  suit.  According  to  their 
like,  each  member  of  the  crew  wore  light  or  heavy 
underwear.  Each  wore  his  one-piece  suit  over  his 
regular  uniform.  Each  was  also  allowed  five  pounds 
for  toilet  articles  and  spare  clothing.  Additional 
clothing  was  placed  on  the  Aroostoolc  for  use  on  arrival 
at  Trepassey  and  at  Plymouth. 

The  pilots  were  provided  each  with  a  vertical  card 
compass  and  an  inclinometer  on  the  hood  im- 
mediately in  front  of  him.  On  a  central  instrument 
board  were  located  in  full  view  of  each  pilot  a  com- 

*Lost  left  arm  day  before  started. 


250        THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S 

bined  lateral  and  longitudinal  inclinometer,  an  air 
speed  meter,  an  altimeter,  tachometers,  and  oil  pres- 
sure gauges,  one  for  each  engine,  and  a  clock. 

Between  the  pilots'  seats  were  Liberty  switches  and 
voltage  regulators  for  each  engine,  also  lighting 
switches  for  dash  and  compass  lights,  for  side  lights, 
and  for  range  lights. 

To  avoid  confusion  and  necessity  for  labels  the 
tachometers  and  Liberty  switches  were  arranged  in 
plan  form  so  that  their  position  indicated  the  engines 
they  applied  to. 

The  hand  pulls  for  the  electric  starters  were  lo- 
cated in  the  bulkhead  back  of  and  between  the 
pilots'  seats. 

The  engine  throttles  were  located  under  the  deck 
between  the  pilots.  The  forward  throttle  controlled 
the  forward  engine,  the  rear  throttle  the  rear  engine, 
and  a  differential  throttle  controlled  the  wing  en- 
gines, permitting  both  to  be  accelerated  or  retarded 
simultaneously  by  a  direct  movement,  or  indepen- 
dently by  a  twisting  movement  for  manoeuvring  on 
the  water  or  in  the  air. 

A  master  switch  for  cutting  in  or  out  all  engines 
could  be  operated  by  the  feet;  it  was  located  at  the 
bottom  of  the  instrument  board  on  the  centre  line. 

A  turn  indicator  was  mounted  on  deck  on  the  cen- 
tre line  where  it  was  readily  seen  by  both  pilots. 

The  pilots'  seats  were  provided  with  "Kapok" 
cushions  for  the  seat  and  back  rest.  The  edges  of 
the  cockpits  were  upholstered. 

Dual  control  was  provided  so  that  either  pilot  could 
take  complete  control  or  assist  the  other. 


THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S        251 

Two  hand  wheels,  interconnected,  controlled  the 
ailerons.  These  were  mounted  on  a  single  bridge 
operating  the  elevators. 

Two  foot  bars,  interconnected,  controlled  the  rud- 
ders. 

The  navigator  was  provided  with  a  boat  compass, 
a  special  drift  indicator,  a  specially  designed  "bub- 
ble" sextant,  devised  by  Lieutenant-Commander 
Byrd,  requiring  no  horizon,  chronometers  showing 
Greenwich  Mean  Time  and  Greenwich  Sidereal 
Time,  charts,  plotting  sheets,  navigation  tables, 
nautical  almanac,  and  a  chart  board  and  all  neces- 
sary instruments  required  in  navigation  work.  He 
was  also  provided  with  a  stop  watch  for  recording 
time  of  astronomical  observations. 

The  seaplane  engineers  were  provided  with  special 
tools  and  spare  parts  and  materials,  also  a  lineman's 
belt  for  security  when  working  in  the  open  under- way. 

The  radio  operator  was  provided  with  complete 
sets  of  radio  apparatus  for  telegraph  and  telephone 
and  radio  compass,  and  carried  limited  spares  for  the 
more  fragile  parts. 

Special  antennae  were  rigged  between  the  skid 
fins  for  operation  when  afloat  and  a  trailing  antenna 
was  provided  for  greater  range  in  flight. 

All  members  of  the  crew  except  the  reserve  pilot 
engineer  were  also  provided  with  telephone  head  gear 
for  inter-communication  in  flight,  and  by  a  special 
connection  it  was  also  possible  for  the  Commanding 
Officer  to  switch  in  on  the  radio  'phone  to  com- 
municate with  other  planes,  vessels,  or  stations  in 
range. 


CHAPTER  III 

THE   START  OF  THE  FLIGHT — ROCKAWAY  TO  HALIFAX 

THE  original  date  for  completion  of  the  N.C's 
was  set  as  May  1st,  but  as  this  date  ap- 
proached and  the  manifold  modifications  devel- 
oped, it  was  apparent  that  the  earliest  possible  date 
for  completion  of  the  three  planes  to  enter  the  flight 
would  be  May  4th.  This,  however,  was  satisfactory 
as  there  was  still  sufficient  leeway  to  make  the  flight 
to  Newfoundland  and  leave  there  by  May  14th.  In 
the  last  days  of  the  preparations  all  hands  were 
working  under  high  tension  and  work  was  going  on 
night  and  day.  The  nervous  strain  on  all  hands  was 
high  and  it  finally  became  necessary  for  Commander 
Towers  to  issue  instructions  that  none  of  the  pilots 
should  participate  in  the  night  work,  as  he  appreci- 
ated that  it  would  not  do  for  them  to  enter  the  first 
leg  of  the  flight  if  they  were  physically  and  mentally 
exhausted. 

The  N.C.I  and  N.C.4  were  finally  completed  on  the 
night  of  May  4th,  and  the  Curtiss  workmen  left 
that  night  proud  and  happy  that  they  had  completed 
their  work  on  time.  During  the  night  about  forty 
officers  and  men  carried  on  the  work  of  preparation 
for  the  flights  in  the  morning,  and  among  these 
preparations  was  the  filling  of  the  tanks  of  the  N.C.I 
with  gasoline.  About  2:00  A.  M.,  in  some  manner 

252 


THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S        253 

a  spark  from  the  motor  driving  an  electric  pump 
ignited  the  gasoline,  blowing  the  hose  off  the  pump 
and  throwing  a  stream  of  gas  on  the  concrete  floor 
directly  under  the  right  wing  of  the  N.C.I  and  the 
tail  of  the  N.C.4.  In  an  instant  the  wings  of  the 
N.C.I  and  the  tail  of  the  N.C.4  were  in  a  blaze,  and  in- 
side of  six  minutes  the  right  wing  of  the  N.C.I  was 
hopelessly  damaged  although  the  fire  was  put  out. 
The  men  who  fought  this  fire  deserve  the  greatest 
credit  for,  realizing  that  it  was  impracticable  to  save 
the  right  wing,  they  exerted  all  their  efforts  to  hold 
the  damage  to  it,  and  flooded  the  rest  of  the  machine 
with  their  fire  extinguishers  so  successfully  that  the 
damage  was  practically  limited  to  the  portions  of 
the  wing  outboard  of  the  engine  mountings.  They 
succeeded  in  limiting  the  damage  to  the  N.C.4  to 
part  of  the  lower  elevator  and  the  lower  horizontal 
stabilizer. 

Many  barrels  of  gas  were  on  the  deck  of  the  hangar 
and  in  spite  of  the  danger  to  themselves  the  men 
rolled  these  tanks  out  of  the  hangar  clear  of  the  fire, 
a  number  of  the  men  suffering  burned  hands  and 
sprained  wrists  as  a  result. 

The  Curtiss  factory  was  immediately  notified  and 
calls  were  sent  out  to  their  workmen  to  be  back  on 
the  job  the  next  morning.  Fortunately,  the  right 
wing  of  the  N.C.2,  whose  left  wing  had  previously 
been  damaged  in  a  storm,  remained  intact.  As  soon 
as  the  fire  was  out  the  men  at  the  station  proceeded 
to  dismantle  the  right  wing  and  to  remove  the 
damaged  elevator  from  the  N.C.4>  so  that  in  the 
morning  when  the  Curtiss  workmen  arrived  prepa- 


254        THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S 

rations  were  already  under  way  to  substitute  the 
undamaged  right  wing  of  the  N.C.2  for  the  damaged 
wing.  The  Curtiss  workmen  arrived  before  working 
hours,  but  did  not  wait  for  the  whistle  to  blow  and, 
though  many  of  them  were  ready  to  cry  when  they 
saw  the  condition  of  the  plane,  they  got  into  their 
working  clothes  as  rapidly  as  practicable  and  work 
was  diligently  started,  so  that  late  that  evening  the 
N.C.I  was  again  in  flying  condition,  and  the  damaged 
tail  of  the  N.C.4  repaired.  It  was  only  their  indom- 
itable spirit  which  made  this  possible. 

From  now  on  until  May  8th,  the  weather  conditions 
interfered  and  the  time  thus  gained  was  used  to  tune 
up  and  adjust  the  planes. 

On  the  morning  of  May  8,  1919,  everything  was  in 
readiness;  N.C.I  and  N.C.3  had  had  early  morning 
workouts  proving  everything  in  good  order  and 
N.C.4  had  been  tried  out  the  preceding  day. 

About  8  A.  M.  local  weather  conditions  appeared 
favourable,  but  reports  had  not  all  come  in  yet  as  to 
conditions  near  Halifax.  About  9:30  these  reports 
arrived  as  well  as  the  synoptic  reports  from  Washing- 
ton. Conditions  seemed  favourable  and  the  decision 
was  made  and  instructions  issued  to  get  under  way. 

At  last  the  time  had  arrived  to  which  we  had  all 
been  looking  forward  for  months.  We  had  each  and 
every  one  of  us  given  serious  thought  to  the  work  on 
which  we  were  engaged,  and  had  attempted  to  fore- 
see all  contingencies.  In  carrying  on  the  work  we 
had  given  the  most  minute  inspection  to  every  detail, 
fully  appreciating  the  importance  of  the  integrity 
of  our  planes  and  their  power  plants.  We  had  de- 


THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S        255 

veloped  many  devices  to  insure  that  we  should  make 
no  mistakes  in  handling  the  planes.  We  had  taken 
particular  care  to  see  that  we  ourselves  were  in 
the  proper  physical  and  mental  condition  to  under- 
take the  important  task  which  had  been  assigned 
us. 

The  N.C.I  and  N.C.3  were  already  overboard  and 
N.C.4  was  on  the  marine  railway. 

Each  plane  was  now  supplied  with  a  package  of 
about  two  dozen  sandwiches,  a  two-quart  thermos 
bottle  of  coffee  forward  and  a  one-quart  bottle  aft, 
and  five  gallons  of  drinking  water. 

Each  plane  carried  about  800  gallons  of  gasoline, 
1,000  pounds  of  oil,  a  heavy  ground  anchor  and  sea 
anchor  and  line,  and  towing  gear,  besides  excess 
spare  parts  over  and  above  those  to  be  carried  on  "the 
long  leg,"  for  due  to  the  small  quantity  of  gasoline 
there  was  considerable  reserve  left.  In  addition,  the 
members  of  the  crew  carried  cigarettes,  cigars,  and 
chocolate  candy. 

Having  said  our  farewells,  the  crews  climbed  on 
board,  the  engineers  primed  the  engines,  and  stood 
by  with  fire  extinguishers  in  case  of  a  back  fire.  All 
engine  switches  were  thrown  to  contact,  then  the 
master  switch,  and  finally  the  starting  switches  were 
pulled,  and  in  less  than  a  minute  all  four  engines  in 
each  plane  were  running.  A  few  minutes'  delay  to 
warm  up  and  insure  oil  pressure  in  each  engine  and 
the  signal  to  start  was  given.  The  lines  holding  the 
N.C.3  to  the  beach  were  released  and  she  headed  out 
into  Jamaica  Bay.  N.C.I  followed,  and  N.C.4  came 
down  the  marine  railway,  took  the  water,  and  grace- 


256        THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S 

fully  followed  the  others  which  had  headed  N.  E. 
across  the  bay.  The  N.C.3  left  the  beach  at  10:07 
A.  M.  local  time.  After  a  short  run  toward  Barren 
Island  the  N.C.3  turned  and  headed  west  followed 
by  N.C.I  and  N.C.4.  All  planes  being  in  position 
opened  out,  N.C.3  "planed"  quickly  and  at  10:15 
took  the  air,  followed  in  quick  succession  by  the 
others,  and  the  flight  was  "on." 

The  N.C.3  headed  for  Roamer  Shoal  Light  till  it 
was  evident  that  the  others  could  take  their  assigned 
positions,  then  turned  at  about  500  feet  altitude  and 
headed  east  on  her  course  about  three  miles  south  of 
Rockaway  for  Montauk  Point.  The  N.C.4  was  to 
the  north  well  in  shore  and  the  N.C.1  to  the  south- 
west well  off  shore. 

The  sky  was  cloudy  and  the  horizon  hazy,  but 
visibility  was  good.  The  air  was  smooth  and  we 
soon  settled  down  to  our  cruising  gait. 

By  noon  Montauk  Point  was  abeam,  and  we  set 
our  course  for  Block  Island  which  was  clearly  visible 
ahead.  The  New  England  shore  was  just  visible  in 
a  dark  haze  to  the  northward.  At  an  altitude  of 
about  2,300  feet  we  passed  Block  Island  at  12:15  p.  M. 
and  headed  for  Vineyard  Sound.  Block  Island 
showed  up  clear  and  beautiful.  The  houses,  roads, 
and  fields  looked  like  a  Christmas  tree  garden.  We 
could  see  the  surf  breaking  on  the  rocky  beach,  and 
the  smoke  of  steamers  passing  below  showed  us  the 
direction  of  the  surface  wind. 

As  we  entered  Vineyard  Sound  N.C.4  had  gotten 
well  ahead  and  made  a  complete  circle  to  regain 
position.  Here  we  got  a  few  mild  bumps  from  the 


THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S        257 

wind  coming  over  the  land  to  the  northwest.  Buz- 
zard's Bay  was  visible  over  the  islands. 

Passing  Wood's  Hole  our  course  was  changed  for 
Monomoy  Point,  which  we  passed  about  1 :30  p.  M., 
getting  a  few  bumps  crossing  Nantucket  Shoals. 
Massachusetts  Bay  was  clearly  visible  almost  as  far 
as  Cape  Cod.  The  course  was  now  changed  to  head 
for  Cape  Sable.  About  2:00  p.  M.,  sight  of  land  was 
lost  in  the  haze  astern.  About  this  time  we  sighted 
the  first  patrol  vessel  making  smoke  well  to  our  north- 
ward, though  N.C.4  must  have  passed  close  to  it  as 
she  was  farther  north.  Shortly  after  this  N.C.4  re- 
ported she  was  having  oil  trouble  with  one  engine 
and  was  proceeding  on  three  engines.  She  slowly 
dropped  behind  and  we  soon  lost  sight  of  her  in  the 
dark  sky  to  the  north. 

N.C.3&nd  N.C.I  continued  toward  Halifax.  We  did 
not  sight  Number  2  patrol  though  we  saw  her  smoke 
coming  down  wind.  We  picked  up  Number  3  on  our 
starboard  hand.  Shortly  after  we  saw  a  heavy  wind 
squall  coming  down  from  the  north  and  as  we  could 
not  avoid  passing  through  it,  came  down  from  about 
2,500  feet  to  50  feet  to  meet  it.  The  gusts  were 
sharp  and  strong,  and  tended  to  roll  us  though  they 
did  not  affect  our  longitudinal  trim  or  our  direction 
seriously.  By  sharp  work  on  the  ailerons,  both 
pilots  working  together,  we  were  able  to  keep  right 
side  up  and  on  our  course.  I  had  made  a  tour  of  the 
plane  and  had  just  returned  to  my  seat  when  we  saw 
the  squall.  As  the  squall  hit  us  Towers  looked  back 
at  us  anxiously  for  a  few  seconds,  for  none  of  us  had 
experienced  such  weather  in  the  N.C's  before,  but  it 


258        THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S 

was  soon  evident  that  the  plane  was  well  balanced 
and  satisfactorily  controllable  and  he  returned  to  his 
navigation  to  correct  our  course  for  the  new  wind. 
This  squall  lasted  probably  twenty  minutes. 

On  my  tour  around  the  plane  I  had  to  wriggle  out 
of  my  seat  to  the  side  passage,  and  crawl  on  hands 
and  knees  to  the  rear  compartment.  There  I  found 
Rhodes  stretched  out  on  the  floor  resting.  "Dinty" 
Moore  was  watching  the  engine  gauges,  seeing  that 
gas  was  overflowing  from  the  gravity  tanks,  watching 
the  gas  pumps,  and  from  time  to  time  looking  over 
the  engines  and  listening  to  detect  any  mechanical 
troubles  or  irregularity  in  firing. 

Lavender  was  busy  with  his  radio,  and  I  did  not 
disturb  him.  I  then  crawled  forward  through  the  star- 
board wing  passage  and  went  to  Towers.  He  showed 
me  on  the  chart  where  we  were,  and  then  told  me 
that  he  preferred  running  at  not  more  than  1,000  feet, 
as  it  was  easier  to  determine  the  drift;  that  is,  how 
much  the  wind  set  us  off  our  heading,  also  that  at 
higher  altitudes  this  drift  was  stronger  and  made  our 
speed  slower  over  the  ground. 

Moreover,  at  higher  altitudes,  though  we  could 
still  detect  the  smoke  from  the  destroyers,  it  was 
more  difficult  to  find  them,  and  the  destroyers  them- 
selves were  almost  impossible  to  see  more  than  five 
or  ten  miles,  even  though  the  point  of  the  smoke 
trail  indicated  their  position.  Under  certain  con- 
ditions white  smoke  was  more  visible  than  black 
against  the  sea  background.  This  we  discovered 
when  passing  one  patrol,  which  according  to  in- 
structions, started  to  steam  toward  the  destroyer  as 


THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S 

we  passed.  When  they  changed  the  fires  to  stop 
making  black  smoke,  they  overdid  it  and  made  white 
smoke  for  a  short  while,  and  this  was  clearly  visible. 

After  passing  the  squall  the  visibility  steadily  im- 
proved. We  passed  directly  over  patrol  Number  4, 
soon  sighted  Seal  Island,  and  then  shaped  our  course 
to  pass  to  the  leeward  of  the  Nova  Scotia  coast. 
This  coast  is  high,  rocky,  and  broken  by  gulleys  and 
headlands  and  rocky  islands. 

From  the  time  we  got  to  leeward  of  this  land  until 
we  landed  in  Halifax,  we  encountered  very  bad  air 
and  were  in  it  for  close  to  three  hours.  Vicious 
squalls  continuously  rushed  down  the  gulleys  and 
over  the  headlands,  and  mixed  hot  and  cold  air 
joined  in  giving  us  a  battle  to  keep  on  our  course  and 
to  keep  from  rolling  down  first  one  wing  and  then  the 
other.  At  first  it  was  quite  a  strain,  but  shortly, 
through  unremitting  practice,  we  learned  how  to  an- 
ticipate effects  and  the  best  way  to  meet  the  puffs 
whose  tracks  we  could  see  on  the  surface  of  the  water. 

McCulloch  and  I  agreed  to  take  half-hour  tricks 
at  the  wheel,  and  this  worked  very  well  until  we 
struck  the  squall  above  referred  to  and  until  we  got 
under  the  lee  of  the  land.  In  these  puffs  a  wing 
would  go  down  and  it  would  take  the  efforts  of  both 
pilots  to  regain  control,  and  though  we  divided  up 
responsibility  approximately  half  an  hour  at  a  time, 
we  were  both  on  tfye  job  most  of  the  last  three 
hours. 

We  had  never  expected  to  encounter  such  weather 
in  these  large  seaplanes  and  were  delighted  to  find 
that  they  responded  splendidly  to  their  controls. 


260        THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S 

Although  we  had  hard  work  they  never  really  assumed 
a  dangerous  attitude  on  this  run. 

As  we  approached  Halifax  we  were  alarmed  by  the 
report  that  we  had  but  two  hours'  gas  to  do  two 
hours'  flying,  and  more  so  when  two  hours  passed 
and  due  to  the  strong  cross  wind  we  were  still  some 
distance  from  Halifax.  For  each  leg  of  the  flight 
careful  computations  had  been  made  as  to  the 
quantity  of  gas  which  would  be  needed  to  complete 
that  leg  with  certainty.  We  had  figured  out  that 
about  650  gallons  would  carry  us  to  Halifax,  allow- 
ing a  safe  margin  in  still  air,  and  we  had  added  200 
gallons  reserve  over  this  figure,  and  it  was  therefore 
hard  to  comprehend  why  our  gas  supply  was  so  nearly 
exhausted.  We  later  found  out  that  the  gauge  read- 
ings were  incorrect  under  way  because  the  gasoline 
pumps  drew  off  the  same  lead  as  the  gauge.  Later 
on,  when  we  wanted  gas  estimates,  we  stopped  the 
pumps  to  get  true  readings. 

Approaching  Halifax  a  beautiful  rainbow  column 
appeared  over  the  land  dead  ahead.  It  extended  in  a 
broad  band  of  brilliant  colours  from  the  hilltop  to  the 
clouds  which  were  afabout  6,000  feet  elevation.  The 
band  of  colours  was  about  one  third  as  broad  as  it  was 
high. 

Swinging  into  Halifax  harbour  we  headed  straight 
into  the  wind  and  though  the  gusts  were  still  strong 
they  were  less  troublesome  then  when  nearly  abeam. 
Descending  easily  we  made  a  smooth  landing  about 
7:00  P.  M.,  abreast  the  stern  of  the  Baltimore,  surpris- 
ing those  on  board  who  were  watching  the  N.C.I,  as 
we  suddenly  appeared  from  behind  McNab  Island. 


THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S        261 

We  had  lost  sight  of  the  N.C.I,  but  they  had  sighted 
her  first  coming  in  at  much  greater  altitude. 

About  one  minute  after  we  landed  we  sighted  the 
N.C.I  while  we  were  taxiing  to  our  moorings.  She 
made  a  pretty  landing  about  ten  minutes  after  us  and 
almost  on  the  same  spot. 

Skimming  on  the  surface  of  the  water  at  high  speed, 
we  frightened  the  captain  of  a  schooner  which  was  in 
our  way.  He  put  about  to  avoid  us  just  as  we 
changed  course  to  avoid  him,  and  it  was  only  by 
sharp  manoeuvring  that  we  prevented  a  collision. 

As  soon  as  we  moored  the  crews  of  the  N.C.Sand  the 
N.C.I  went  on  board  the  Baltimore.  Here  Captain 
Cluverius  and  Captain  Hines  and  the  officers  of  the 
Baltimore  made  us  heartily  welcome. 

The  N.C.I  had  had  much  the  same  experience  as  we 
had  had,  and  all  hands,  particularly  the  pilots,  were 
tired  and  ready  to  turn  in  after  we  had  satisfied  our 
lusty  appetites  with  the  fine  warm  meal  which 
awaited  us.  However,  as  we  had  had  no  news  of  the 
N.C.4  since  she  reported  engine  trouble,  we  were 
anxious  concerning  her  and  waited  a  while  to  hear 
from  her.  We  could  not  understand  why  the  N.C.4 
was  in  trouble.  We  had  received  no  reports  from  her 
by  wireless.  If  she  had  landed,  why  had  no  destroyer 
picked  her  up?  We  felt  confident  that  in  the  con- 
dition of  the  sea  near  Chatham,  when  she  fell  behind, 
there  should  be  no  difficulty  in  her  landing  and  taking 
care  of  herself.  If  she  had  landed  right  side  up  it  was 
hard  to  understand  her  silence.  We  did  not  like  to 
feel  that  the  expedition  had  already  been  reduced  to 
two  planes,  aside  from  our  personal  anxiety  for  the 


262        THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S 

members  of  her  crew.  A  false  report  of  a  plane  over 
the  city  had  us  looking  at  a  low  red  star  which  showed 
red  and  green  through  binoculars.  For  a  short  time 
it  was  mistaken  for  the  plane.  Later  another  star 
to  the  south  was  also  thus  complimented. 

Coming  into  the  harbour  we  had  viewed  it  under 
unusual  conditions.  The  full  red  sunset  tinted  the 
lower  tufts  of  clouds  with  a  rich  crimson.  This 
mingled  with  the  lights  of  the  city  and  the  fading 
colours  of  the  landscape,  making  a  wonderful  picture 
in  which  the  citadel  was  a  prominent  form. 

Crowds  lined  the  docks,  the  tops  of  buildings,  and 
the  hilltops;  and  steamers  and  factory  whistles  added 
to  the  noise  of  the  cheering  crowds.  But  we  heard 
none  of  it  till  we  throttled  our  engines  for  the  glide  to 
the  landing. 


THE  IMMEDIATE  ANCESTOR  OF  THE  CURTISS  FLYING  BOAT 


THE  AMERICA  ABOUT  TO  TAKE  THE  AIR 

She  got  away  very  rapidly  with  a  light  load,  but  could  not  leave  the 
water  with  the  load  she  was  built  to  carry  across  the  Atlantic.  She  was 
purchased  by  the  British  navy,  however,  and  used  in  the  training  of  pilots 
for  the  Royal  Naval  Air  Service 


•  ©  International  Film  He-mice  (lower  photo) 

THE  N.C.  3  AT  ROCKAWAY 

(Above) — View  from  astern,  showing  the  construction  of  the  tail,  the 
arrangement  of  the  engines,  and  the  four-wheeled  handling  truck 

(Below) — A  beam  view,  showing  the  big  boat  on  the  marine  railway 
ready  for  her  start 


CHAPTER  IV 

THE  SECOND  "LEG" — HALIFAX  TO  TREPASSEY  BAY 

REFUELLING  and  overhaul  were  started  at 
once  under  the  direction  of  the  regular  plane 
crews,  but  the  bulk  of  the  work  was  carried 
on  by  plane  crews  trained  at  Rockaway  and  trans- 
ferred to  the  Baltimore  for  the  purpose.  All  base 
ships  were  similarly  supplied  with  trained  personnel 
and  also  with  adequate  spare  parts,  to  provide  for 
almost  any  normal  contingency. 

For  the  purpose  of  refuelling,  the  planes  were 
brought  one  at  a  tune  to  the  stern  of  the  Baltimore. 
This  ship  had  been  modified  as  a  mine  planter,  and 
the  large  open  port  at  the  stern  was  almost  ideal  for 
the  purpose. 

The  two  planes  had  reached  Halifax  without  any 
mishap,  travelling  540  nautical  miles  in  nine  hours 
elapsed  time.  All  the  engines  had  run  perfectly  and 
the  planes  had  been  proved  in  very  rough  air. 

As  soon  as  we  awakened  the  next  morning  we  re- 
ceived the  glad  news  that  the  N.C.4  had  been  sighted 
making  her  way  in  over  Chatham  Bar.  This  was  a 
great  relief  to  us,  and  we  now  proceeded  cheerfully 
toward  preparations  for  the  next  leg  of  the  flight. 

The  next  morning  the  engines  were  tried  out,  but 
due  to  dirt  and  water  in  the  gasoline  supply  difficulty 
was  found  in  starting;  and  a  final  inspection  showed 


264        THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S 

that  the  tips  of  one  propeller  were  cracked.  The 
N.C.1  had  similar  propellers,  and  although  she  was 
already  taxiing  we  warned  her  of  the  danger  and  on  in- 
spection she  also  found  the  same  difficulty.  It  there- 
fore became  necessary  to  change  all  propellers  of  this 
particular  type.  On  investigation  it  was  found  that 
there  were  not  enough  spare  propeller  hubs  to  re- 
place the  special  hubs  used  with  the  faulty  propellers. 
For  a  few  minutes  we  were  stumped,  but  Lieutenant- 
Commander  Byrd,  who  had  had  charge  of  the 
Halifax  station  during  the  war,  remembered  that  at 
the  time  of  transfer  of  this  station  to  the  Canadian 
Government  spare  hubs  for  Liberty  engines  had 
been  transferred  with  other  equipment. 

We  had  no  difficulty  in  arranging  with  the 
Canadian  officials  for  the  use  of  the  necessary  hubs, 
and  preparations  were  continued  though  not  com- 
pleted in  time  to  get  away  that  day.  Late  in  the 
afternoon  both  planes  made  trial  flights  to  insure 
that  everything  was  in  order.  The  N.C.I  did  not 
get  off  till  after  sundown,  and  then  made  a  moon- 
light flight  over  the  city  and  harbour.  Her  running 
lights  were  brilliant  objects  in  the  sky  and  she  pre- 
sented a  most  beautiful  spectacle,  with  her  engines 
spitting  flame  as  she  sailed  above  the  lights  of  the 
city  in  the  late  twilight. 

May  10th  we  were  up  bright  and  early,  but  the 
night  had  been  cold  and  there  was  some  delay  in 
getting  the  engines  started.  Finally,  the  N.C.3  got 
the  three  tractors  going,  but  the  rear  starter  carried 
away  and  had  to  be  replaced.  In  the  meantime,  the 
N.C.I  got  under  way  and  warmed  up  her  engines,  and 


THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S       265 

when  we  found  that  we  would  have  to  delay  to  change 
starters  Towers  ordered  her  to  proceed  to  Trepassey. 

Bellinger  was  glad  of  this  for  it  gave  him  a  chance 
to  navigate  on  his  own.  The  N.C.1  took  the  air  at 
8:47  A.  M.  (N.Y.  time),  and  climbing  steadily  soon 
passed  out  of  sight  at  about  500  feet  altitude  beyond 
McNab  Island. 

About  twenty-five  minutes  later  the  N.C.3  got 
under  way.  We  found  the  air  rough,  the  wind  being 
off  shore,  but  not  so  bad  as  when  we  came  in.  Much 
to  my  annoyance  and  McCulloch's  also,  I  found  my 
arms  muscle-bound  from  the  unusual  exertion  of  two 
days  before,  and  I  was  sluggish  to  reaction  on  the 
controls  to  meet  the  bumps.  About  thirty-five 
miles  out,  when  near  Egg  Island  Light,  oil  pressure 
failed  on  the  rear  engine.  McCulloch  shut  down 
this  engine  and  we  decided  to  land  to  note  its  con- 
dition. We  landed  easily,  head  to  the  wind,  and 
ahead  of  a  moderate  ground  swell  from  the  south  a 
few  miles  off  shore.  On  examination  we  found  the 
rear  engine  in  satisfactory  condition,  but  inspection 
of  our  propellers  showed  the  starboard  propeller  tips 
damaged.  We  decided  to  return  to  Halifax  and  re- 
place it.  The  return  flight  was  uneventful  except 
that  McCulloch  and  I  tried  to  turn  in  at  every  cove 
thinking  we  had  reached  Halifax.  We  used  all  four 
engines  to  get  into  the  air,  but  immediately  throttled 
the  starboard  engine  to  "idling"  and  made  the  run 
back  on  three  engines.  Because  of  lack  of  propellers 
to  match  our  damaged  starboard  propeller,  we  had 
to  change  the  centre  propeller  to  the  starboard  engine 
and  replace  the  centre  one  by  one  of  the  type 


266        THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S 

that  had  failed.  To  save  time  we  "radioed"  the 
Baltimore  to  be  ready  to  make  this  change.  The 
change  was  completed  about  noon,  and  after  our 
early  lunch  on  the  Baltimore  we  again  got  away  at 
12:40,  taking  the  air  at  12:45.  This  time  I  was  in 
good  condition  for  I  had  limbered  up  on  the  run  back 
to  the  harbour. 

Outside  the  harbour  the  wind  had  changed  and, 
coming  off  the  sea,  was  smooth  till  we  had  gone  about 
thirty  miles.  Here  it  changed  to  an  off-shore  wind, 
and  for  the  rest  of  the  trip  we  encountered  rough  and 
bad  air  till  in  the  vicinity  of  Newfoundland.  Just 
before  we  reached  Guyon  Point  Light  we  ran  into 
contrary  wind  and  the  drift  suddenly  changed  from 
10°  to  port  to  10°  to  starboard.  We  passed  just 
inside  Guyon  Point  Light.  From  this  point  we 
headed  for  St.  Pierre.  We  sighted  Number  1  patrol 
well  to  the  south  of  us  and  evidently  off  station. 
As  we  proceeded  the  wind  increased  to  an  inten- 
sity of  forty  miles  per  hour  across  the  course. 
About  four  o'clock  we  passed  out  of  sight  of  the 
American  continent,  crossing  the  mouth  of  the  St. 
Lawrence.  We  continuously  fought  through  very 
rough  air  until  St.  Pierre  was  sighted  about  4:30  P.M. 
Visibility  was  good  and  we  picked  up  the  patrols 
regularly.  We  tried  various  altitudes  to  get  out  of 
rough  air,  but  with  only  minor  success  below  2,500  feet. 
Before  we  reached  this  altitude  we  found  the  wind 
much  stronger  across  the  course  and  unfavourable, 
and  it  was  also  more  difficult  for  the  navigator  to 
determine  the  exact  course  we  were  making,  and 
our  progress  became  seriously  reduced.  Once  we 


THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S        267 

sighted  land,  however,  navigation  difficulties  were 
reduced  and,  as  the  wind  direction  became  more  fa- 
vourable on  the  new  course,  we  climbed  to  3,000  feet, 
where  we  found  the  air  smooth  but  cold.  To  be 
certain  of  maintaining  smooth  air  to  the  lee  of  the 
land  we  also  worked  well  off  shore.  As  a  conse- 
quence, we  could  not  see  as  far  as  the  head  of  Pla- 
centia  Bay,  but  we  kept  the  point  to  the  east  in  sight, 
and  we  sighted  the  patrol  in  the  mouth  of  Placentia 
Bay.  By  the  time  we  arrived  off  Trepassey  we  had 
worked  thirty  miles  off  shore.  About  twenty  miles 
west  of  Trepassey  we  sighted  a  fleet  of  four  large 
icebergs  in  line  along  a  tide  rip.  At  first  these  looked 
like  sound  steamers,  but  soon  their  intense  whiteness 
and  their  odd  shapes  revealed  what  they  actually 
were. 

These  icebergs,  even  from  our  altitude  of  3,000 
feet  and  at  a  distance  of  approximately  one  mile  to 
our  north,  were  of  such  size  as  to  be  prominent  ob- 
jects in  the  wide  field  exposed  to  our  view.  Their 
appearance  was  majestic  as  they  moved  on  to  the 
westward.  The  water  in  the  vicinity  of  their  margins 
appeared  to  be  illuminated  by  the  reflected  light 
from  the  submerged  portions,  presenting  a  peculiarly 
beautiful  appearance  like  that  of  the  sun  shining 
through  the  back  of  high  breakers  running  in  on  the 
beach.  It  is  probable  that  the  peaks  of  these  ice- 
bergs stood  150  feet  or  more  out  of  the  water,  and 
as  only  about  one  ninth  of  the  iceberg  itself  is  ex- 
posed above  the  surface,  the  depth  to  which  they 
projected  can  be  imagined. 

We  arrived  off  Trepassey  about  6:00  p.  M.  and  then 


268        THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S 

headed  in  for  the  harbour,  making  a  detour  in  order 
to  approach  the  landing  headed  into  the  wind,  as  we 
expected  rough  air  under  the  lee  of  the  land.  It  was 
now  very  cold  and  the  radiators  showed  only  98°. 
We  did  not  feel  the  cold  except  on  our  chins  which 
were  unprotected  unless  we  ducked  below  the  wind 
shields. 

Approaching  the  harbour  we  started  to  descend. 
At  about  2,100  feet,  while  McCulloch  was  forward 
consulting  the  navigator  to  get  the  lay  of  the  har- 
bour, we  caught  a  vicious  puff  which  sent  the  left 
wing  down.  I  used  all  my  strength  on  the  aileron 
to  recover,  but  got  no  response.  I  then  used  strong 
rudder  to  assist  the  left  wing  to  rise  but  again  no  re- 
sponse, and  I  finally  had  to  head  down  sharply,  going 
down  after  the  wing,  in  order  to  regain  control.  This 
manoeuvre  succeeded.  It  all  happened  in  less  time 
than  it  takes  to  tell  it,  and  in  another  moment  Mc- 
Culloch was  back  in  his  seat  ready  to  assist  me.  A 
long  glide  for  the  harbour  of  Trepassey  was  now 
started,  throttling  the  engines  only  partially  to 
stretch  out  the  glide  and  to  keep  them  warm.  From 
time  to  time  on  the  glide  the  engines  were  let  out 
to  clear  them  of  oil,  so  they  would  not  "die"  when  we 
wanted  them  again. 

All  the  way  down  from  2,000  feet  we  struck  vicious 
puffs  which  grew  sharper  and  more  frequent  as  we 
neared  the  surface  and  came  closer  under  the  lee  of 
the  land. 

At  one  time  we  got  a  sharp  drop,  and  Rhodes  and 
a  box  he  was  seated  on  were  tossed  off  the  deck 
in  the  rear  compartment.  Heading  into  the  wind, 


THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S        269 

however,  there  was  little  difficulty  with  the  ailerons 
and  rudder;  but  we  had  to  keep  a  sharp  watch  on  the 
elevator  and  head  down  frequently  to  keep  from 
being  lifted  sharply  or  to  maintain  full  flying  speed 
as  the  puffs  would  kill  our  headway. 

We  finally  got  down  to  from  thirty  feet  to  fifty 
feet  of  the  water  where  strong  swells  were  running, 
and  at  this  altitude  approached  Powells  Point  Light, 
fighting  all  the  way.  At  Powells  Point  we  ran  on 
the  water  until  we  reached  mid-channel  and  then 
turned  at  right  angles  up  the  harbour,  running  at 
high  planing  speed  across  an  avalanche  of  wind  rush- 
ing across  the  harbour  from  the  bluffs  on  the  west 
side.  Running  this  way  it  took  all  the  strength  of 
both  pilots  to  keep  the  right  wing  up.  We  were  fre- 
quently lifted  clear  of  the  water  by  squalls,  each  time 
being  carried  sharply  to  leeward  and  skidding  strongly 
as  we  would  again  make  contact.  On  our  way  in  we 
had  sighted  icebergs  in  Mutton  Bay  and  to  the  east- 
ward toward  Mistaken  Point.  Byrd  had  noted  and 
reported  broken  ice  in  the  sea  outside.  With  our 
goggles  befogged  with  spray  we  could  not  see  clearly. 
Consequently  when  I  sighted  a  cloud  of  spray  from 
a  speed  boat  racing  in  ahead  of  us,  I  thought  it  was 
a  berg  ahead  and  had  visions  of  ice  cakes  floating 
in  the  harbour,  and  would  not  have  been  surprised 
if  one  had  come  crashing  through  the  bottom  of  the 
hull  at  any  moment. 

Passing  astern  of  the  Prairie  and  the  Aroostook, 
we  soon  saw  the  N.C.I  at  her  mooring  and  rapidly 
approached  our  own  mooring  about  7 :30  p.  M. 

The  N.C.1  had  had  practically  the  same  experience 


270        THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S 

we  had  had  on  each  part  of  the  run,  but  had  entered 
the  harbour  flying  hi  over  the  causeway  and  getting 
a  nasty  jolt  doing  it.  On  the  way  to  her  mooring 
she  was  slightly  damaged  by  a  sailing  launch  fouling 
the  tail  and  breaking  an  elevator  horn.  She  had 
arrived  about  4  P.M.  Leaving  Halifax,  Barin  had 
tripped  and  plunged  a  hand  through  the  deck.  It 
was  painful  at  the  time,  but  the  run  to  Trepassey 
made  it  worse  and  on  arrival  it  was  badly  swollen 
and  very  painful  from  a  sprain.  Fortunately,  under 
the  doctor's  care  it  was  in  good  condition  before  we 
left  Trepassey. 

We  at  once  went  aboard  the  Aroostook.  Captain 
Tomb  and  his  officers,  together  with  Captain  Cren- 
shaw  of  the  Destroyer  Force,  Captain  Ghent  of  the 
Prairie,  and  the  crew  of  the  N.C.I,  met  us  and  made 
us  welcome.  We  were  soon  cleaned  up  and  enjoyed 
a  nice  warm  meal  which  was  ready  for  us.  We  did 
justice  to  it. 

During  the  meal  and  all  the  evening  the  wind  con- 
tinued to  blow  in  such  sharp  gusts  that  we  had  grave 
fears  lest  the  seaplanes  would  drag  their  moorings 
and  be  driven  on  to  the  rocky  beach. 

Every  effort  was  made  to  get  ready  for  the  next 
leg  of  the  trip.  We  all  hoped  that  the  N.C.4  would 
arrive  in  time  to  join  us  on  the  trip  to  the  Azores,  but 
the  weather  was  so  uncertain  that  we  felt  we  could 
not  afford  to  wait  if  good  weather  should  turn  up  first. 

Trepassey  Harbour  is  a  narrow  bay  just  to  the 
west  of  Mutton  Bay.  On  the  west  side  are  steep 
hills  rising  to  about  300  feet  elevation,  with  a  steep 
bluff  all  along  the  western  side  of  the  entrance.  A 


THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S       271 

river  valley  forms  a  gulley  on  the  west  side  which 
points  for  the  main  harbour  at  its  broadest  point 
in  line  with  the  causeway  on  the  east  side  which  con- 
nects Powells  Point  with  the  mainland.  The  inner 
harbour  is  too  small  to  permit  taking  the  air  and 
crossing  the  causeway,  and  about  the  only  way  for 
seaplanes  of  large  size  to  get  away  is  to  start  in  the 
broad  part  of  the  inner  harbour  and  head  straight 
out  through  the  entrance.  With  northerly  winds 
Mutton  Bay  is  well  suited  for  a  getaway,  but  during 
our  stay,  except  the  first  few  days,  a  heavy  ground 
swell  from  the  south  made  it  impracticable  to  taxi 
or  tow  out  through  the  entrance.  Even  had  that 
been  practicable,  the  swells  were  so  strong  that  it  is 
doubtful  if  a  getaway  would  have  been  made  without 
serious  danger  of  damage  to  the  planes. 

The  town  of  Trepassey  is  a  village  of  scattered 
frame  houses  on  the  east  side  of  the  harbour.  The 
inhabitants  were  very  cordial.  They  were  proud 
of  the  fact  that  one  of  the  officers  of  the  Aroostook, 
Lieutenant  James,  was  a  Trepassey  boy.  He  had  not 
been  there  for  thirty  years,  and  he  particularly  en- 
joyed a  flight  with  Ensign  Talbott  in  a  small  flying 
boat. 

This  flying  plane  was  a  small  two-passenger  100- 
horsepower  plane.  Two  of  them  had  been  placed 
on  the  Aroostook,  in  order  that  by  exploring  the  air 
in  that  vicinity  we  should  know  what  conditions 
to  expect  on  arrival  there  and  when  starting  for 
the  Azores.  They  served  this  purpose  admirably. 
While  at  Halifax  we  received  a  report,  as  a  result  of 
such  flights,  that  at  practically  any  time  of  the  day 


THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S 

around  Trepassey  the  air  was  decidedly  rough  and 
bumpy.  It  was  for  this  reason  that,  on  approaching 
Trepassey,  we  got  so  far  leeward  in  order  to  bring 
these  bumps  dead  ahead. 

During  our  stay  at  Trepassey  the  local  weather 
conditions  were  surprisingly  good,  though  conditions 
on  the  Azores  route  were  unfavourable,  and  on  the 
route  to  Ireland  were  especially  bad.  The  days 
were  pleasant,  but  the  nights  were  cold,  and  twice 
on  calm  nights  the  harbour  was  covered  with  a 
scum  of  ice.  Because  of  the  cold  weather  special 
steamlines  were  rigged  on  the  sterns  of  the  Aroostook, 
Prairie,  and  Hisko,  so  all  the  planes  could  warm  up 
their  oil  before  shoving  off,  to  avoid  possible  damage 
to  the  engines  due  to  cold  oil. 

A  number  of  reporters  from  the  States  had  come 
to  Trepassey.  They  had  converted  an  antiquated 
dining  car  to  their  uses,  utilizing  cots  at  night.  This 
car  was  dubbed  the  N.C.5,  and  while  at  Trepassey 
it  carried  the  Stars  and  Stripes  on  a  flagpole  at  one 
end. 

Sunday,  May  llth,  we  inspected  Mutton  Bay  and 
found  conditions  satisfactory  for  a  getaway  into  a 
northerly  wind,  though  long  ground  swells  were 
running  in  from  the  south. 

Overhaul  went  on  rapidly.  We  carefully  revised 
downward  our  spare  parts  lists  and  tool  lists  and 
equipment,  eliminating  everything  practicable  in 
favour  of  gasoline.  We  dispensed  with  the  ground 
anchor,  towing  gear,  and  miscellaneous  tools  and 
spares;  substituted  a  spare  elevator  wire  for  the  sea 
anchor  line;  reduced  our  emergency  rations  to  one 


THE  TRIUMPH  OP  THE  N.C'S        273 

per  man,  and  put  half  our  life  preservers  ashore. 
Some  of  us  left  our  fleece-lined  boots  behind.  We 
tore  out  about  fifty  pounds  of  floor  slats  and  bulk- 
head doors  and  fittings,  and  even  reduced  some  of 
the  navigating  equipment.  We  decided  to  attempt 
the  trip  with  1,700  gallons  of  gasoline,  800  pounds 
of  oil,  5  gallons  reserve  radiator  water,  and  to  carry 
the  reserve  engineer  if  we  could  get  off  with  this  load. 

In  February  the  date  for  the  start  from  New- 
foundland had  been  set  for  May  14th.  By  the  after- 
noon of  May  12th,  the  N.C.1  and  N.C.3  were  ready 
at  Trepassey,  and  the  N.C.4  was  still  weatherbound 
at  Chatham. 

We  were  now  held  up  by  unfavourable  weather 
along  the  route  to  the  Azores.  By  the  evening  of  the 
15th  conditions  improved  except  that  locally  a  strong 
wind  blew  across  the  harbour  and  a  strong  swell  was 
running  in  at  the  entrance. 

We  were  loaded  close  to  29,000  pounds,  which  was 
greater  than  we  had  ever  succeeded  in  getting  off 
with  in  the  trials  at  Rockaway,  but  we  counted  on 
some  assistance  from  the  wind  though  its  direction 
was  bad  as  it  came  over  the  hills  with  a  strong  down 
trend  into  the  harbour. 

Though  the  N.C.4.  had  reached  Halifax  the  night 
before  she  had  been  held  by  fog  and  had  not  yet 
reached  Trepassey.  On  the  morning  of  the  14th  we 
had  received  new  oak  propellers,  and  all  tractor  pro- 
pellers on  the  N.C.1  and  the  N.C.3  had  been  changed. 
We  had  much  more  confidence  in  the  workmanship 
and  material  of  the  new  ones  than  in  those  previously 
provided.  They  were  of  the  type  with  which  we 


274        THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S 

had  achieved  the  heaviest  weight-lifting  at  Rocka- 
way. 

We  therefore  attempted  to  start,  but  the  cross 
winds  caused  the  pilots  to  become  drenched  with  ice- 
cold  spray,  we  were  unable  to  get  planing  in  the  inner 
harbour,  and  in  the  outer  harbour  the  swells  were  too 
strong  to  risk  a  getaway.  The  pilots  felt  that  they 
needed  a  change  of  clothing  and  it  was  doubtful 
whether  a  fresh  trial  would  be  any  more  successful. 
As  we  turned  back  to  the  inner  harbour  the  N.C.4 
came  in.  This  settled  the  question,  and  we  de- 
cided to  wait  till  the  next  day  so  that  the  N.C.4 
could  join  us. 

We  were  delighted  to  have  the  N.C.4  with  us  again 
and  proud  that  she  had  overcome  the  obstacles  in 
her  way.  We  could  now  start  from  Trepassey  in 
full  force.  On  returning  to  the  ship,  we  found  that 
the  weather  conditions  predicted  for  the  next  day 
were  as  good  if  not  better  than  those  for  that  day. 
We  now  made  an  important  decision,  which  was  se- 
riously to  change  the  fate  of  the  N.C.3  and  the  N.C.I. 
We  knew  that  the  C.5  had  arrived  at  St.  Johns  and 
was  standing  by  for  an  attempt  at  a  transatlantic 
flight. 

From  the  N.C.4  we  got  the  first  news  of  the  loss 
of  the  C.5  as  they  had  sighted  her  adrift  about 
two  hundred  feet  off  the  water  to  the  south  of  Tre- 
passey. 

By  strenuous  work  the  N.C.4  was  ready  the  next 
afternoon. 

Friday,  May  16th,  we  again  scanned  our  weights 
and  decided  to  reduce  our  fuel  to  1,600  gallons,  as 


THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S        275 

careful  computations  showed  this  to  be  sufficient  to 
reach  Horta  in  a  calm,  estimating  conservatively. 
Ensign  Barrat,  our  aerographer,  assured  that  us  we 
could  also  expect  real  assistance  from  the  wind  so 
that  we  should  have  more  than  an  even  chance  of 
making  Ponta  Delgada  without  stopping  at  Horta. 
We  decided  that  if  we  sighted  Horta  inside  of  seven- 
teen hours  we  would  not  stop  there  as  we  should 
still  have  sufficient  gas  to  reach  Ponta  Delgada. 

In  the  morning  a  strong  wind  was  blowing  directly 
across  the  harbour  so  that  it  looked  as  if  we  should 
have  to  get  away  in  Mutton  Bay.  To  settle  this  all 
pilots  were  detailed  to  go  in  a  launch,  examine  and 
report  on  conditions.  We  found  a  heavy  ground 
swell  running  into  the  harbour  and  in  all  parts  of 
Mutton  Bay,  and  reported  that  it  was  impracticable 
to  attempt  towing  or  taxiing  to  Mutton  Bay,  to  get 
off  outside  the  harbour,  or  even  inside  the  harbour 
with  the  wind  blowing  across  it. 

As  the  afternoon  wore  on  the  wind  changed  direc- 
tion, making  getaway  conditions  more  favourable, 
and  the  weather  reports  indicated  favourable  con- 
ditions on  the  Azores  route.  If  the  getaway  was 
delayed  another  day  it  might  be  several  days  before 
conditions  would  again  favour.  Finally,  although 
it  was  reported  that  the  sky  was  overcast  and  there 
was  fog  and  rain  at  the  Azores,  we  were  assured  these 
conditions  would  clear  up  before  we  arrived.  Our 
weather  forecaster  in  Washington  advised  us  to 
"go." 


CHAPTER  V 


THE  THIRD  "LEG" — TREPASSEY  TOWARD  THE  AZORES 


THE  N.C.4  was  expected  to  be  ready  at  any 
minute,  so  the  N.C.I  and  the  N.C.3  got  under 
way  and  warmed  up  their  engines,  waiting  for 
the  N.C.4,  and  taxiing   around   the  harbour.     We 
were  delayed  so  long  that  we  decided  we  could  not 
wait  and  finally  proceeded  to  attempt  to  get  off. 
About  this  time  the  N.C.4  shoved  off  and  finally  got 
her  centre  engine  going.     This  had  had  no  previous 
running  since  coming  out  of  the  crates. 

Three  attempts  of  the  N.C.3  to  get  off  were  un- 
successful. We  had  foreseen  the  contingency  and 
decided  that  if  necessary  we  could  leave  our  reserve 
engineer  and  the  radio  converter  behind. 

In  the  meantime,  the  N.C.4  got  away  easily.  She 
circled  over  Mutton  Bay  for  a  try-out  of  her  new  en- 
gine and  then  returned  to  the  harbour  to  wait  for 
the  flagship  to  start.  She  got*  away  between  our 
second  and  third  trials  and  in  the  third  trial  we  made 
desperate  efforts  to  get  off.  We  nearly  made  it, 
but  failed  again.  Much  to  our  regret,  therefore,  we 
put  Rhodes,  the  radio  generator,  stool,  and  a  few 
tools  in  the  Aroostook  and  again  attempted  to  get 
off — this  time  successfully. 

(In  the  continuance  of  this  narrative  I  shall  give 

276 


THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S       277 

time  as  Greenwich  Mean  Time,  which  is  four  hours 
ahead  of  New  York  Summer  Time.  Local  time 
changes  too  fast  with  longitude  to  afford  any  com- 
prehensible record.) 

By  getting  well  back  into  the  bight  of  the  inner 
harbour,  starting  near  the  main  wharf  at  Trepassey, 
we  had  about  a  half-mile  run  into  the  wind,  and  then 
had  to  turn  and  head  out  of  the  harbour  with  the 
wind  almost  abeam,  to  avoid  getting  under  the  down 
trend  over  the  bluffs.  By  strenuous  efforts  we  nearly 
got  to  planing  as  we  reached  the  turn;  by  constant 
work  on  the  controls  we  got  to  jumping  before  we 
struck  the  swells  in  the  outer  harbour,  and  finally 
we  were  able  to  "keep  the  air"  as  we  passed  Powells 
Point.  We  were  quickly  followed  by  the  N.C.4 
and  later  by  the  N.C.I.  The  N.C.3  got  off  at  22:06 
G.M.T.,  the  N.C4  at  22:07,  the  N.C.I  at  22:09. 

We  were  now  off  on  the  most  important  leg  of  the 
flight  and  one  which  was  to  prove  extremely  eventful. 
We  had  no  fear  of  results  as  we  had  been  through  such 
bad  weather  on  the  way  to  Trepassey  that  we  had 
confidence  in  the  planes  and  their  power  plants. 
Practically  all  of  our  air  stations  had  noted  that  when 
the  wind  came  off  the  sea  it  was  smooth  and  the  air 
conditions  were  best  except  in  advance  of  a  big 
storm,  when  for  days  before  the  storm  the  air  would 
become  restless.  We  therefore  expected  that  after 
we  had  gone  one  or  two  hundred  miles  from  the  coast 
that  we  should  get  away  from  the  currents  of  the  air 
coming  off  the  land  and  find  flying  as  smooth  as  a 
mill  pond.  But  we  were  mistaken,  as  it  will  be  seen 
as  the  narrative  continues. 


278        THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S 

The  air  at  the  harbour  entrance  was  rough,  so  we 
climbed  slowly,  turned,  and  headed  for  Mistaken 
Point.  This  brought  the  wind  astern  and  we  wal- 
lowed around  a  bit  as  we  overtook  the  puffs. 

We  passed  Mistaken  Point  at  about  three  hundred 
feet  at  22:15  and  a  few  minutes  later  lost  sight  of 
land  in  the  haze  astern.  We  were  off  on  what  was 
to  prove  an  eventful  trip,  sailing  into  the  night  with 
the  land  ahead  nearly  1,200  miles  away.  We  had 
every  confidence  of  success. 

The  sun  set  about  23:00  G.M.T.,  in  heavy  cloud 
banks,  and  it  rapidly  grew  dark.  Just  before  dark 
we  passed  close  to  a  large  iceberg  and  found  the 
air  rough  in  its  vicinity.  Fifteen  minutes  after 
passing  Mistaken  Point  we  passed  a  reserve  destroyer 
specially  posted  and  set  our  course  down  the  lane  of 
destroyers  which  at  fifty -mile  intervals  marked  our 
way  to  the  Azores.  The  sky  was  heavily  overcast, 
and  there  was  practically  no  horizon  to  the  south  of 
us,  while  to  the  north  the  horizon  was  fairly  clear. 

We  soon  picked  up  the  lights  of  Number  1  patrol 
on  our  port  bow  and  from  then  on  followed  the  pa- 
trols regularly  and  easily  till  Number  13  was  sighted 
and  passed.  At  one  time  we  encountered  the  wake  of 
another  plane,  probably  the  N.C.4,  and  got  some  good 
jolts  from  her  propeller  blast.  Throughout  the  night 
the  N.C.3  found  the  air  restless,  and  we  tried  different 
altitudes  searching  for  better  conditions.  Due  to 
grounding  of  the  running-light  circuits  by  salt  spray, 
our  running  lights  would  not  work  and  we  had 
no  lights  on  our  pilots'  compasses  or  inclinometers. 
The  luminosity  of  the  compass  cards  was  very  faint 


WHEN  THE  N.C.  3  LANDED  ON  ROUGH  WATER 

"We  were  surprised  and  chagrined  to  find  the  forward  engine  struts 
buckled  like  a  bull-dog's  legs."  Showing  the  damage  to  the  forward 
engine  struts  and  the  slack  in  the  flying  wires  attaching  at  the  heels  of 
these  struts.  An  attempt  was  made  to  smooth  the  seas  by  the  use  of  the 
oil  with  which  the  deck  and  wreckage  is  smeared 


II 


THE  CRIPPLED  N.C.  3  BLOWING  INTO  PONTA  DELGADA 
STERN  FOREMOST 


N.C.  3  AT  PONTA  DELGADA 

The  damage  to  the  left  wing  may  be  closely  studied.  The  wing  ribs  are 
practically  all  detached  from  the  rear  wing  spur,  but  the  internal  wing 
trussing  remains  intact. 


THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S        279 

except  when  we  would  revive  it  with  a  pocket  flash. 
They  would  then  become  brilliant  only  to  fade  out 
in  about  three  minutes. 

McCulloch  and  I  had  again  agreed  on  half -hour 
tricks  at  the  wheel,  but  the  air  was  constantly  so  bad 
that  even  when  off  watch  we  had  to  stand  by  to 
assist  and  frequently  had  to  work  together  for  con- 
siderable intervals  to  maintain  our  course  and  bal- 
ance. At  times,  in  unusually  turbulent  conditions, 
we  would  divide  the  control.  I  would  handle  the 
ailerons  and  watch  the  wing  tips  and,  by  keeping  the 
horizon  line  between  the  tip  float  and  the  lower  wing 
tip,  was  able  to  anticipate  effects  of  puffs  and  more 
easily  keep  in  lateral  balance.  McCulloch  would 
handle  the  rudder  and  elevator  and  keep  on  the 
course.  This  was  necessary,  for  we  found  that  the 
compasses  were  erratic  and  would  swing  with  the 
plane  unless  we  kept  her  from  turning  or  from  heel- 
ing. In  this  manner  and  with  the  assistance  of  the 
turn  indicator  we  were  able  to  make  decent  courses 
even  in  bad  air.  Even  when  the  horizon  was  ob- 
scured, by  the  aid  of  the  inclinometers  we  were  able 
to  avoid  getting  into  dangerous  attitudes. 

Very  few  stars  were  visible,  and  until  the  moon 
was  well  up  we  had  to  depend  principally  on  the 
instruments. 

In  daylight  the  handling  of  a  big  seaplane  in  rough 
air  is  reasonably  easy  because,  with  a  visible  horizon 
and  objects  on  the  surface  to  guide  us,  we  can  in- 
stantly recognize  the  attitude  and  movements  of  the 
plane  and  make  corrections  if  necessary;  but  on  this 
night  the  horizon  was  seldom  clearly  defined  and  at 


280        THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S 

times  the  air  was  very  rough  so  it  became  trying  work 
to  keep  the  plane  properly  trimmed  by  the  aid  of  the 
instruments  alone.  About  00:03  G.M.T.  the  moon 
was  dead  ahead,  blood  red  behind  banks  of  cloud. 
Its  form  was  much  distorted  and  at  first  it  showed 
about  three  layers.  Instead  of  helping  us,  at  first, 
it  was  a  menace  for  it  made  our  compasses  and  in- 
clinometers almost  impossible  to  read.  Because  of 
peculiar  atmospheric  conditions  a  brownish  haze 
horizon  line  appeared  on  our  starboard  bow  and  con- 
fused us  as  to  the  true  attitude  of  the  plane.  While 
passing  Number  3  patrol  we  sighted  two  steamers 
brilliantly  lighted  up.  At  one  time  when  near  Num- 
ber 5  patrol,  because  our  running  lights  were  not 
burning,  we  were  nearly  run  down  by  the  N.C.I. 
We  warned  her  off  with  a  pocket  flash  lamp.  Her 
own  lights  showed  up  brilliantly. 

Conditions  got  better  as  the  moon  rose  higher,  but 
we  frequently  had  to  change  altitude  to  avoid  layers 
of  cloud  and  several  times  ran  into  wind  squalls 
near  the  surface.  Passing  patrol  Number  6  we  were 
at  2,100  feet,  but  the  air  got  so  rough  we  descended 
to  1,400  feet  where  we  found  it  better.  We  finally 
descended  to  about  fifty  feet  between  Number  7  and 
Number  8,  but  found  the  air  very  rough  and  started 
climbing  again.  We  passed  Number  9  about  4:10. 
We  were  now  above  the  clouds  and  found  smooth  air 
for  the  first  time.  From  now  on  the  pilots  were 
able  to  relax  while  off  watch. 

The  navigator  was  constantly  busy  checking  drift 
and  position  and  keeping  our  track  on  the  charts. 
The  frequent  shift  of  wind  made  this  a  continuous  job. 


THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S        281 

Cruising  along  above  a  thin  layer  of  clouds,  we 
had  another  plane  (N.C.4)  in  sight  almost  directly 
below  us  for  the  run  from  about  Number  8  till  we 
passed  Number  13.  At  one  time  we  climbed  to 
avoid  danger  of  her  coming  up  under  us.  We  could 
see  her  running  lights  plainly  as  she  passed  beneath 
open  patches  in  the  clouds. 

About  4 :00,  as  we  sailed  above  the  clouds,  we  ap- 
peared to  be  passing  over  a  new  country  filled  with 
enormous  hummocks  and  billows  of  white  as  far  as 
the  eye  could  see.  We  were  running  about  four 
hundred  feet  above  the  tops  of  the  clouds.  Looking 
down  I  frequently  noted  our  shadow  chasing  madly 
over  the  hills  and  hollows  below  and  saw  that  the 
shadow  was  surrounded  by  a  rainbow,  forming  a 
complete  ring  just  touching  the  tips  of  the  shadows 
of  the  wings.  This  moonlight  rainbow  was  weak, 
but  the  colours  were  distinguishable.  I  had  heard 
of  this  phenomenon  occurring  in  daytime,  but  had 
not  expected  to  find  it  by  moonlight. 

We  could  now  see  the  sky  on  our  port  beam  steadily 
becoming  brighter,  and  about  5:00  G.M.T.  it  was 
nearly  full  daylight. 

Throughout  the  night  run  we  could  pick  up  the 
searchlights  of  the  patrols  at  long  distances  and  the 
star-shells  even  farther  away.  They  would  come  up 
in  a  brilliant  burst  of  greenish-white  light  arching 
over  and  falling  even  above  cloud  level. 

Throughout  the  night  wireless  operators  were 
constantly  on  the  job,  and  although  the  air  conditions 
had  become  such  that  we  had  become  separated, 
each  of  us  seeking  better  air  conditions,  we  were 


282        THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S 

still  in  wireless  touch  with  each  other  and  4with  the 
destroyers. 

As  daylight  came  we  could  still  communicate  with 
N.C.I  and  N.C.4-  In  order  to  keep  above  the  clouds 
we  had  to  keep  climbing,  so  that  finally,  as  we  passed 
Number  13  at  6:23,  we  were  up  about  4,300  feet  and 
just  above  the  clouds,  which  were  steadily  getting 
thicker  and  higher.  They  finally  became  so  thick 
that  we  seldom  saw  the  surface,  and  it  became  more 
and  more  difficult  for  the  navigator  to  keep  track  of 
our  true  course.  While  above  the  clouds  I  noticed 
that  the  hummocks  seemed  to  move  relatively  to 
each  other  as  if  agitated  by  a  ground  swell.  At  first 
I  thought  it  was  because  my  eyes  were  tired,  but  after 
repeated  observation  concluded  that  the  motion  really 
existed  and  I  later  confirmed  this  as  Towers  had  also 
observed  it. 

About  the  time  we  passed  Number  13  I  sighted  the 
searchlight  and  a  star-shell  from  Number  14  about 
two  points  on  our  port  bow.  Both  were  clearly  visible 
though  fifty  miles  off  at  the  time.  Shortly  after  this, 
as  the  clouds  became  thicker  and  higher  and  the 
sky  was  almost  completely  overcast,  we  decided  to  go 
down  the  better  to  check  our  course.  Choosing  the 
first  opportunity  we  went  down  through  a  large  hole 
in  the  clouds.  Through  this  hole  the  surface  of  the 
sea  appeared  a  blue  black,  and  even  in  the  half  light 
of  dawn  waves  were  distinguishable  at  this  altitude. 
The  sun  had  not  yet  risen.  We  descended  nearly 
2,000  feet  before  we  got  below  the  clouds  and  there 
found  ourselves  in  a  sort  of  half-lighted  room  of 
enormous  size  having  a  bright  silvery  rim  all  around 


THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S        283 

which  were  numerous  squalls  and  patches  of  fog. 
The  air  was  very  restless.  We  searched  the  horizon 
for  Number  14,  fully  expecting  to  sight  her  easily,  but 
she  was  nowhere  to  be  seen.  Coming  down  through 
the  clouds  we  even  had  some  fears  we  might  run 
foul  of  N.C.4,  but  as  it  turned  out  later  it  is  probable 
that  while  above  the  clouds  and  after  passing  Number 
13  we  were  set  strongly  to  the  south  of  our  course. 

For  six  hours  we  now  ran  into  fog  and  rain  squalls 
at  frequent  intervals.  Sometimes  we  would  dodge 
them,  but  often  were  unable  to  avoid  them.  Once 
we  were  caught  in  a  fog  so  thick  we  could  hardly  see 
the  bow  of  our  own  plane;  another  time  we  were  al- 
most blinded  in  a  rain  squall  and  started  to  land  from 
about  600  feet,  but  before  we  got  turned  into  the 
wind  we  ran  out  of  the  squall.  Somehow,  princi- 
pally by  the  aid  of  our  instruments,  we  managed  to 
keep  right  side  up  though  the  air  at  times  was  very 
rough.  We  steadily  approached  closer  to  the  sur- 
face to  get  better  drift  observations.  We  sighted 
only  one  more  vessel  that  day.  This  was  shortly  after 
we  came  down  below  the  clouds.  Later  we  learned 
it  was  probably  the  Marblehead.  It  was  well  to  our 
southward,  so  it  only  helped  to  confuse  our  position. 

About  11:00  G.M.T.,  Saturday,  having  had  only 
a  short  nap  on  Friday,  the  almost  constant  exertion 
on  the  controls  seated  in  one  position  and  the  steady 
strain  on  my  eyes  caused  them  to  become  very 
heavy;  and  I  suffered  greatly  from  the  mental  effort 
to  overcome  my  drowsiness,  fully  realizing  my  con- 
dition and  my  responsibility,  driving  a  ten-ton 
seaplane  at  eighty  miles  per  hour  through  bad  air. 


284        THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S 

During  the  night  I  had  had  some  coffee,  but  the  coffee 
was  now  almost  gone  and  was  cold  and  did  not  help 
to  keep  me  awake.  Fortunately,  before  leaving  Rock- 
away  the  medical  officer,  Doctor  Schade,  had  ex- 
plained the  use  of  the  first-aid  kit  and,  anticipating 
just  this  effect  of  a  prolonged  strain  in  one  position, 
had  provided  strychnine  and  caffein  for  the  emer- 
gency. Remembering  this  I  went  forward  and  asked 
Towers  for  the  first-aid  kit  and  took  a  dose  according 
to  instructions.  Temporarily  I  gained  relief,  pos- 
sibly because  of  my  exertion  in  crawling  around  the 
hull,  but  after  about  a  half  hour  I  was  worse  than 
ever  and  McCulloch,  noting  this,  signalled  Towers 
to  give  me  another  dose.  This  time  the  desired 
effect  was  obtained  and  I  had  no  further  trouble. 

It  now  was  evident  that  we  were  off  our  course, 
and  at  about  9:30  G.M.T.  Towers  reported  that  we 
were  between  Number  17  and  Number  18,  off  our 
course,  and  asked  for  compass  signals. 

Later  on  Towers  got  a  sight  of  the  sun  which  indi- 
cated our  position  as  well  to  the  south  of  the  line, 
and  at  about  13:00  G.M.T.  he  changed  course  to 
90°  magnetic.  As  nearly  as  we  could  determine  we 
had  already  gone  far  enough  to  make  the  islands, 
but  had  had  no  sight  of  land  or  of  any  patrols  since 
Number  13,  and  the  visibility  was  so  bad  that  we  did 
not  know  but  that  we  might  pile  up  in  some  vineyard 
in  the  fog  without  warning.  It  became  essential  to 
know  our  position  for  we  had  only  two  hours'  gas  left, 
and  we  had  to  know  how  to  use  it  to  advantage.  At 
the  time  of  taking  the  sight  the  air  conditions  were  so 
rough  that  Towers  did  not  have  complete  confidence 


THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S        285 

in  it.  We  later  found  that  the  sight  was  substantially 
correct,  and,  had  we  held  our  course  less  than  one 
hour  more,  would  undoubtedly  have  found  Pico. 

Under  these  conditions,  Towers  asked  McCulloch 
and  me  if  we  did  not  think  we  could  land  as  he 
wanted  to  get  a  radio  compass  bearing.  We  both 
looked  at  the  sea  and  decided  it  was  possible;  though 
as  we  were  up  about  500  feet  we  decided  to  look 
again  closer  to  the  surface.  We  swung  down  in  a 
spiral  to  head  into  the  wind.  Closer  inspection 
indicated  conditions  O.K.  We  had  landed  off 
Barnegat  in  seas  nearly  as  rough  as  those  we  now 
saw,  so  we  throttled  down  to  make  a  landing.  We 
struck  the  first  crest  rather  hard  and  then  found  a 
long,  deep  hollow  ahead.  We  dropped  into  this  and 
"zoomed"  to  the  crest  touching  easily  and  expecting 
to  stick  to  the  surface,  but  the  swell  dropped  from 
under  us  sharply  and  sat  us  down  very  hard  on  top 
of  the  next  crest,  making  contact  forward  of  the  step 
almost  under  the  pilot's  heels.  This  time  we  stuck, 
at  13:30  G.M.T.,  May  17th. 

We  were  surprised  and  chagrined  to  find  the  for- 
ward engine  struts  buckled  like  a  bulldog's  legs. 
The  engine  had  settled  at  least  eight  inches.  The 
flying  wires  were  slack,  the  aileron  wires  very  slack. 
Further  examination  showed  that  the  hull  was  leaking 
and  several  longitudinals  and  frames  buckled  and 
cracked.  One  hull  truss  wire  had  carried  away,  and 
the  truss  attachments  to  the  bulkheads  were  strained 
as  well  as  the  connections  of  the  tubular  struts  from 
the  wing  engines  to  the  hull. 

It  was  manifest  that  we  could  not  resume  flight  even 


286        THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S 

had  the  sea  been  smooth.  The  seas  were  .running 
eight  to  twelve  feet  high  at  the  time,  and  there  was 
superposed  a  ground  swell  which  added  four  to  five 
feet  at  times.  The  wind  was  about  twenty-five 
miles  per  hour. 


CHAPTER  VI 

A   SMALL  CRAFT   ON   A  LARGE   OCEAN 

AWE  sized  up  the  situation  we  now  realized 
that  the  Atlantic  Ocean  was  very  large  and 
that  we  were  very  small.     Moreover,   we 
were  in  a  not-much-travelled  portion  of  the  ocean, 
and  to  the  southward  of  the  usual  steamer  track.     We 
did  not  yet  know  how  serious  the  leakage  was,  nor 
did  we  anticipate  that  conditions  were  going  to  grow 
worse. 

As  we  had  placed  the  radio  converter  ashore  at 
Trepassey  we  were  without  means  of  radio  sending 
until  we  could  relocate  the  radio  generator  in  a  pro- 
peller blast.  We  at  once  proceeded  to  do  this,  plac- 
ing the  generator  on  the  diagonal  strut  to  the  port 
engine.  As  soon  as  this  was  done  we  started  the 
port  engine,  but  found  we  dared  not  run  it  more  than 
1,000  revolutions  per  minute  as  the  engine  founda- 
tion was  damaged  in  landing.  We  did  not  dare  run 
it  long  at  a  time  for  it  drove  us  diagonally  across  the 
seas,  and  this  endangered  the  starboard  tip  float 
and  also  produced  dangerous  pounding  of  the  weak- 
ened hull.  However,  we  were  able  to  radiate  about 
2J  amperes  which  should  cover  a  radius  of  100  miles. 
For  some  reason,  however,  although  we  could  hear  de- 
stroyers working  not  more  than  forty-five  miles  away, 
they  did  not  hear  us.  We  also  heard  the  Columbia 

287 


288        THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S 

and  later  got  a  radio  compass  bearing  from  her  which 
fixed  our  position  as  about  forty -five  miles  southwest 
of  her  when  we  landed.  We  later  learned  that  the 
N.C.I  was  down  with  damaged  left  wing  and  that 
the  search  was  "on"  for  her. 

It  was  most  annoying  to  be  practically  gagged,  to 
be  able  to  hear  without  it  being  possible  to  be  heard. 
Still  later  we  learned  that  the  N.C.4  had  arrived 
alongside  the  Columbia,  and  was  ready  to  proceed 
to  Ponta  Delgada  the  next  morning. 

Yet  later  we  learned  that  the  crew  of  the  N.C.I 
had  been  rescued  by  the  Greek  ship  Ionia,  Norfolk 
to  Gibraltar,  and  that  efforts  were  being  made  to 
save  the  N.C.I.  This  was  good  news  to  us  and  we 
expected  soon  to  see  destroyers  searching  for  us. 
Next  we  got  the  disheartening  news  that  the  search 
was  "on"  for  us  to  the  west  of  Corvo.  This  was 
based  on  the  fact  that  we  had  last  been  reported  as 
between  Number  17  and  Number  18  when  we  reported 
that  we  were  off  our  course. 

We  were  riding  comfortably,  head  to  the  wind 
and  seas,  with  an  improvised  sea  anchor  from  the 
bow.  The  wind  was  sending  us  toward  the  islands. 

We  had  landed  after  15.5  hours  in  the  air  having 
covered  1,200  nautical  miles  or  1,380  land  miles, 
enough  to  have  reached  Horta  and  still  had  two 
hours'  gas  left,  more  than  enough  to  reach  Ponta 
Delgada  in  the  air. 

We  now  proceeded  to  take  account  of  stock  and 
found  our  provisions  amounted  to  a  few  dry  jelly 
sandwiches,  a  few  wet  ones,  some  chocolate  almond 
bars,  and  one  emergency  ration  apiece.  I  did  not 


THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S        289 

learn  until  later  that  we  had  left  our  drinking  water 
at  Trepassey,  but  supposed  I  was  getting  rusty, 
greasy  radiator  water  in  order  to  save  the  fresh 
water. 

We  thoroughly  realized  our  predicament,  but  as 
we  were  riding  fairly  easily  except  for  the  frequent 
jerks  of  the  loosened  wings,  and  the  leaks  were  under 
control,  we  were  not  yet  deeply  worried  and  fully 
expected  to  sight  a  destroyer  at  any  time,  particularly 
after  dark  when  their  searchlights  should  be  visible 
a  long  distance  and  we  could  attract  their  attention 
by  Very's  stars. 

As  we  were  all  pretty  well  exhausted  and  conditions 
appeared  favourable,  about  20:00  G.M.T  on  the 
17th  we  decided  to  stand  two-hour  watches.  I  took 
the  first  watch  during  which  nothing  was  sighted 
and  nothing  unusual  happened.  I  was  relieved 
by  McCulloch,  and  from  then  on  in  turn  by  Lavender, 
Towers,  and  Moore.  The  next  morning  about  6:00 
G.M.T.  I  was  aroused  from  a  half-sleeping  con- 
dition by  a  noise  which  made  me  think  the  hull  had 
broken  in  two.  Investigation  showed  that  the  seas 
had  increased  during  the  night  and  had  grown  so 
steep  that  the  lower  elevator  had  dipped  into  the 
wave  astern  wrenching  the  tail  surfaces  badly,  and 
the  noise  had  been  made  by  the  whipping  of  the  con- 
trol column.  My  next  watch  was  from  6:00  to 
8:00  G.M.T.  Just  as  I  was  going  off  watch  the  rear 
edge  of  the  left  wing  caught  in  the  water,  carrying 
away  the  trailing  edge  up  to  the  rear  wing  spar. 
The  wind  continued  to  increase  in  strength  and  the 
waves  grew  larger.  The  contact  of  the  tail  with  the 


290        THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S 

water  became  more  frequent  ajnd  progressively  in- 
creased the  damage  to  the  tail. 

The  wing  damage  also  increased.  We  finally 
decided  to  cut  off  the  trailing  edge.  Moore  and  I 
crawled  out  on  the  rear  spar  and  after  about  twenty 
minutes'  cutting  and  hauling  managed  to  get  it  clear. 
Several  times  while  doing  so  seas  rushed  over  the 
lower  wing  and  as  they  came  up  under  the  wing 
they  would  give  it  heavy  jolts,  breaking  the  wing  ribs, 
and  then  sucking  at  the  cloth  on  the  lower  surface 
tearing  it  away  from  the  ribs  with  a  sound  like  the 
rattling  of  a  tin  roof.  This  action  was  caused  by 
cross  seas  which  formed  peaks  which  would  rise  be- 
tween the  hull  and  the  tip  floats.  Ultimately,  with 
the  ribs  broken,  the  cloth  on  top  sagged;  and  the  seas, 
rushing  over,  would  fill  it  with  pools  of  water  which 
greatly  increased  the  danger  of  rolling  over,  so  we 
had  to  slice  the  wings.  The  wing  cloth  in  this  wet 
condition  was  very  tough  and  not  easy  to  cut.  At 
11:30  G.M.T.  on  the  18th,  just  twenty  hours  after 
landing,  the  left  wing  tip  float  broke  away  without 
warning  and  we  rapidly  drifted  away  from  it. 

This  brought  us  face  to  face  with  the  danger  of 
rolling  over  and  made  it  necessary  to  man  the  con- 
trols, working  the  ailerons  to  keep  balanced,  and  the 
rudder  to  keep  us  square  to  the  seas  so  that  we  should 
not  also  lose  the  right  tip  float. 

We  again  attempted  to  broadcast  an  S.O.S.  call, 
giving  our  position  and  asking  for  assistance,  and 
then  hoisted  our  ensign  inverted  as  a  signal  of  distress. 
We  got  no  acknowledgment.  By  manning  the  con- 
trols and  placing  one  of  the  crew  on  the  right  wing 


THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S       291 

tip  we  were  able  to  keep  the  left  wing  clear  most  of 
the  time  and  to  prevent  yawing. 

From  now  on  the  two  pilots,  assisted  at  times  by 
the  pilot  engineer,  stood  watch  and  watch  until  we 
tied  up  at  Ponta  Delgada.  McCulloeJh.  was  seasick 
enough  to  prevent  his  taking  any  food^,  but  not 
enough  to  stop  him  from  taking  his  turn  at  the  con- 
trols. . 

All  day  Sunday  we  kept  one  of  the  crew  out  on 
the  wing  tip;  and  as  all  members  were  busy  taking 
turns  on  the  wing  tip,  at  the  controls,  pumping, 
or  tightening  up  the  tip  float  or  main  float  wires,  or 
cutting  away  damaged  portions  of  the  wings  as  they 
continued  to  disintegrate  (the  right  lower  wing  had 
also  lost  its  trailing  edge),  there  was  no  opportunity 
for  any  one  to  get  much  sleep  or  rest.  The  radio 
operator  kept  listening  in  and  from  time  to  time  we 
continued  efforts  at  sending,  but  always  without  any 
acknowledgment . 

When  resting  we  would  place  cushions  on  the  slats 
in  the  pilots'  compartment  and,  with  a  life  preserver 
for  a  pillow,  get  such  rest  as  we  could,  but  the  swash- 
ing of  water  in  the  hull  was  a  constant  reminder  of 
danger.  The  hull  would  settle  and  the  wing  tips 
would  land  with  a  thud  on  the  wave  crests,  giving 
blows  to  the  hull  fastenings  which  they  could  not 
stand  indefinitely,  and  jerking  us  as  we  tried  to  sleep. 
Our  most  disquieting  thoughts  concerned  those  at 
home.  We  could  not  tell  them  how  things  were  going 
with  us,  yet  there  we  were  well  and  uninjured  though 
we  were  in  danger. 

About  mid-day  we  sighted  what  appeared  to  be 


292        THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S 

"land"  clouds,  and  as  they  opened  up  slightly  we 
saw  a  part  of  Pico.  At  first  we  were  not  certain  as 
we  saw  only  a  small  portion  of  the  slope,  but  as  this 
line  did  not  change  while  the  contours  of  the  clouds 
did  change  we  were  almost  certain  of  it.  By  bear- 
ings and  a  sun  sight  we  now  located  ourselves  as 
forty -five  miles  southeast  of  Pico.  We  still  had  two 
hours'  gas  left  and  debated  whether  we  should  at- 
tempt to  taxi  to  land.  This,  however,  looked  im- 
practicable in  the  heavy  seas  then  running,  and  would 
almost  certainly  have  involved  the  loss  of  the  right 
wing  tip  float  and  probably  would  have  increased  the 
damage  to  the  hull.  Moreover,  our  probable  head- 
way across  the  seas  and  wind  would  hardly  have 
brought  the  land  within  reach  with  the  fuel  availa- 
ble, nor  was  it  likely  we  could  have  reached  land  be- 
fore dark.  The  idea  was  therefore  abandoned  with 
great  reluctance  in  favour  of  continuing  to  sail  to  lee- 
ward, trusting  the  wind  would  remain  favourable  in 
direction  and  that  by  steering  we  could  make  a  course 
which  would  carry  us  to  the  northward  of  San  Miguel 
and  through  the  line  of  patrol  set  for  the  N.C.4  be- 
tween Horta  and  Ponta  Delgada.  Should  we  pass 
the  patrol  line  this  course  would  take  us  into  the  route 
of  shipping.  At  this  time  the  wind  was  not  suffi- 
ciently favourable  for  us  to  make  San  Miguel  direct, 
even  though  we  could  steer  safely  about  10°  to  either 
side  of  the  wind. 

Our  decision  was  arrived  at  after  serious  misgiv- 
ings for  it  involved  another  night  at  sea  and  it  was 
hard  to  give  up  the  sight  of  land.  At  this  time  the 
seas  were  running  very  high,  at  times  as  high  as 


THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S        293 

thirty  feet,  and  a  forty-  to  forty-five-knot  wind  at 
least  was  blowing.  (I  base  this  estimate  on  the  air 
speed  meter  reading  twenty-eight  knots,  and  our 
speed  astern  averaging  more  than  twelve  knots. 
The  meter  would  read  highest  on  the  wave  crests 
when  we  were  travelling  faster  than  our  mean  speed.) 

Constant  vigilance  was  necessary  on  the  controls, 
not  only  to  keep  the  left  wing  from  going  under,  but 
to  limit  the  punishment  of  the  right  wing,  and  also 
to  keep  from  yawing  which  would  almost  certainly 
have  meant  rolling  over,  or  at  least  losing  our  re- 
maining tip  float.  The  danger  was  very  real,  be- 
cause some  waves  were  curling  and  at  times  we  would 
coast  like  a  surf  board  at  speeds  close  to  twenty-five 
knots  and  at  one  time  certainly  thirty  knots  astern. 
This  stern  board  reduced  the  velocity  of  the  wind 
relative  to  the  ailerons  and  rudders,  taking  away 
much  of  our  power  to  control  our  course  and  balance. 

The  lower  elevator  was  catching  frequently  and 
ever  more  frequently  as  its  hinges  carried  away  and 
it  hung  lower.  Every  time  it  caught  it  would  jerk 
violently  at  the  wires  connecting  it  to  the  upper 
elevator,  and  this  in  turn  was  wrecking  that  elevator. 
We  feared  that  when  it  carried  away  it  might  tear 
holes  in  the  hull,  so  Moore  and  I  cut  the  lower  ele- 
vator wires  adrift.  We  debated  crawling  out  into 
the  tail,  but  it  appeared  to  involve  too  much  risk  so 
we  gave  up  the  idea. 

About  sundown  by  trial  we  determined  that  we 
could  maintain  balance  just  as  well  without  keeping 
one  of  the  crew  on  the  right  whig.  We  also  found 
that  with  the  ailerons  neutral  we  could  steer  with 


294        THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S 

much  less  effort  and  still  have  reserve  control  to  keep 
the  left  wing  from  catching.  This  was  important, 
for  all  hands  had  had  very  little  sleep  or  rest  that 
day,  and  it  was  dangerous  for  the  man  on  the  wing 
tip  if  he  should  fall  asleep,  for  at  times,  in  spite  of 
our  efforts  on  the  controls,  seas  would  wash  over  the 
wings  and,  should  he  be  washed  overboard  in  his 
flying  togs,  there  would  be  almost  no  chance  of  re- 
covering him,  for  as  I  said  before  we  were  averaging 
about  twelve  knots  at  this  time.  As  a  matter  of  fact, 
McCulloch  was  so  exhausted  that,  while  standing 
his  watch  on  the  wing  tip,  he  used  a  safety  belt  to 
fasten  himself  to  the  wing  strut  and  went  to  sleep  for 
some  time  leaning  against  a  stay  wire. 

We  got  such  sleep  as  we  could  off  watch,  but  sel- 
dom more  than  an  hour  or  two  at  a  time.  It  was  so 
disappointing  to  come  off  watch  and  not  be  able  to  go 
below  and  get  something  to  eat  or  have  something 
else  to  do,  that  several  times  I  stayed  on  watch  over 
my  time.  In  fact,  part  of  the  time  the  work  was 
really  fascinating,  and  if  a  destroyer  had  been  within 
reach  it  would  have  been  a  real  pleasure  to  have  gone 
through  some  of  our  experiences. 

On  watch,  through  our  exertions,  we  would  be- 
come overheated  in  our  flying  togs,  and  off  watch  we 
would  get  chilled,  due  to  the  dampness  of  perspiration. 

We  had  plenty  of  radiator  water  to  drink,  but 
didn't  drink  much  as  it  was  too  unpalatable.  None 
of  us  suffered  from  hunger,  thirst,  or  exposure.  The 
sandwiches  were  uninviting,  though  a  bite  of  choco- 
late candy  now  and  then  and  a  cigarette  or  cigar 
afforded  relief  and  helped  us  materially. 


THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S        295 

Sunday  evening  I  felt  quite  fresh  and  stayed  on 
watch  till  about  eleven.  It  was  more  difficult 
fighting  the  seas  at  night  for  we  could  not  see  them 
much  before  they  got  to  us  and  it  was  more  difficult 
to  hit  them  square  to  the  crest  which  we  had  learned 
was  necessary.  The  pilots  had  been  to  school  and 
through  compulsion  had  learned  to  * '  fly  "  backward  and 
still  steer  a  course,  so  that  only  once  in  a  while  were 
we  caught  in  cross  seas  which  put  the  left  wing  under, 
and  only  once  or  twice  did  it  go  under  so  badly  that 
we  had  to  call  for  help  and  send  a  member  of  the  crew 
out  in  the  right  wing  to  assist  in  recovering  balance. 
Cross  chop  was  most  difficult  to- handle  and  did  the 
most  damage  to  the  lower  wings.  At  times  the  seas 
were  so  steep  that  we  would  be  supported  by  the  peak 
of  a  wave  which  extended  only  from  the  front  to  the 
rear  of  the  wing  along  the  main  hull,  but  in  no  case 
did  we  ship  any  seas  in  the  main  hull. 

The  right  tip  float  constantly  got  severe  punish- 
ment and  it  was  frequently  necessary  to  tighten  up 
the  float-bracing,  as  it  slacked  due  to  rocking. 
This  nearly  always  meant  that  Moore  would  get 
drenched,  though  we  tried  to  keep  the  float  clear 
while  he  was  on  it.  We  found  each  wave  crest  had 
to  be  tackled  individually  nearly  square  to  the  crest 
and,  because  the  wind  frequently  shifted  in  squalls 
and  cross  seas  were  running,  this  meant  unremitting 
manoeuvring.  It  was  surprising  how  quickly  the 
seas  would  change  direction  as  the  wind  shifted  and 
how  quickly  they  would  build  up  as  the  squalls  came. 

On  Sunday  we  saw  a  number  of  gulls  playing  over 
the  waves.  It  was  wonderful  to  see  them  skimming 


296        THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S 

the  surface,  never  touching  the  water,  and  taking 
advantage  of  the  changing  velocities  to  tmnk  and 
soar  and  maintain  flight  without  apparent  effort  or 
beating  their  wings.  They  were  the  only  signs  of 
life  we  saw  on  our  entire  run  excepting  a  few  Mother 
Carey's  chickens. 

That  night  our  eyes  were  strained  and  tired  and 
several  times  we  thought  we  saw  searchlights,  partic- 
ularly after  the  moon  rose,  only  to  find  that  it  was  a 
spouting  wave  peak,  the  phosphorescence  of  a  white- 
cap,  or  the  moonlight  on  a  wisp  of  cloud.  After  I 
came  off  watch  I  went  back  to  the  stern  of  the  hull  to 
see  how  the  elevator  was  making  out.  While  stand- 
ing there  I  looked  down  into  the  water  and  saw  what 
appeared  to  be  a  sort  of  sea  serpent  swimming  along 
with  its  head  about  abreast  the  stern  of  the  hull.  It 
wove  its  way  along  like  a  monster  eel.  On  closer 
inspection  its  body  appeared  much  larger  than  its 
head  which  seemed  quite  small  in  proportion.  After 
watching  it  for  several  minutes  I  found  it  was  the 
elevator  wire  dragging  in  the  water  and  making  a 
phosphorescent  streak  as  we  rushed  astern. 

Early  Monday  morning  we  had  heavy  wind  squalls 
with  driving  rain  and  about  18:00  G.M.T.,  the  wind 
changed  direction  so  that  the  best  course  we  could 
make  good  was  southeast.  This  was  very  discour- 
aging for  during  the  night  we  had  been  making  a 
course  which  would  take  us  close  to  Ponta  Delgada, 
and  the  new  course  would  take  us  clear  of  the  islands. 
Fortunately,  after  two  hours  of  this  we  were  able  to 
resume  our  course,  which  Towers  had  determined,  by 
a  moon-and-star  sight,  would  carry  us  almost  direct  to 


THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S        297 

Ponta  Delgada.  Another  sight  of  the  sun  about 
9:00  G.M.T.  showed  us  that  San  Miguel  should  be 
sighted  shortly  and  while  Towers  was  communicating 
this  news  to  the  pilots,  Moore  sighted  land  dead 
astern  at  10:23  G.M.T.  We  soon  made  it  out  to  be 
San  Miguel.  The  effect  of  this  discovery  was  re- 
markable. 

All  hands  had  fully  realized  our  serious  situation  and 
the  consequences  that  might  at  any  time  ensue  from 
the  loss  of  the  right  tip  float,  or  the  opening  of  the 
bottom  under  the  severe  racking  of  the  hull,  but  aside 
from  making  preparations  to  have  fresh  water  and 
emergency  rations  available  in  case  of  capsizing,  and 
providing  lashings  of  interior  communication  wire  to 
lash  us  to  the  hull,  we  had  none  of  us  spoken  of  our 
thoughts  to  the  others.  Now  all  hands,  except 
McCulloch,  who  was  dozing,  cheered  up  and  came  on 
deck.  McCulloch  overheard  us  in  his  half-sleeping 
condition,  but,  instead  of  getting  up,  rolled  over  and 
got  a  snatch  of  real  sleep.  Our  spirits  steadily  rose 
as  the  land  became  plainer,  and  as  it  became  possible 
to  make  a  course  for  Ponta  Delgada  with  certainty. 
We  had  not  yet  touched  our  emergency  rations,  but 
now  became  inquisitive  and  sampled  one.  We 
found  it  rather  unpalatable  and  decidedly  salty.  It 
seemed  to  contain  beans,  dried  eggs,  dried  fish, 
probably  beef  extract,  and  perhaps  some  cornmeal. 
It  looked  like  plum  pudding  or  brown  bread,  in  the 
form  of  cakes  about  the  size  of  a  dollar  and  about 
three  eighths  of  an  inch  thick.  Besides  these  the  pack- 
age contained  sweet  chocolate.  This  was  very  good 
and  refreshing.  We  once  more  attempted  to  radio, 


298        THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S 

again  unsuccessfully,  though  we  could  still  'hear  the 
Columbia  at  Horta  and  now  learned  that  the  destroyers 
had  been  ordered  to  search  to  the  east  with  despatch, 
but  there  was  no  likelihood  that  they  would  pick  us 
up,  and  in  our  present  situation  this  didn't  worry  us. 
We  had  learned  that  the  N.C.4  was  not  to  join  the 
search  though  previously  it  had  been  suggested  she 
do  so. 

Shortly  after  we  landed  we  had  put  over  two  can- 
vas buckets  as  sea  anchor,  to  prevent  too  much 
sternboard  and  yawing.  This  worked  well  and  at 
the  time  much  reduced  the  frequency  with  which  the 
tail  dipped  into  the  water.  We  also  tried  oil  on  the 
water,  but  we  were  running  too  fast  to  leeward  for  it 
to  be  effective.  Sunday,  at  one  time,  we  tried  out 
the  sea  anchor.  In  doing  so  I  narrowly  escaped  in- 
jury through  a  loop  in  the  anchor  line  around  my 
leg.  We  finally  got  the  anchor  overboard,  but  its 
action  was  intermittent  and  too  violent  and  it  carried 
away  in  less  than  three  minutes.  For  a  while  we 
rode  without  any  sea  anchor,  but  made  too  much 
sternboard  to  manoeuvre  satisfactorily.  Monday 
morning  we  tried  setting  sail  to  make  better  speed, 
but  this  also  was  abandoned  because  we  lost  ma- 
noeuvring power. 

About  15:00  G.M.T.  it  was  apparent  that  we  should 
arrive  at  Ponta  Delgada  about  two  hours  later.  By 
tossing  pieces  of  wreckage  overboard  and  noting 
the  time  it  took  to  drift  past  the  hull  we  determined 
we  were  making  about  six  knots.  Shortly  after,  a 
ram  squall  overtook  us  and  in  a  sharp  shift  of  wind 
the  bucket  drag  let  go  as  we  crossed  the  crest  of  a 


THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S        299 

wave  and  made  us  yaw  badly.  The  left  wing  went 
down  sharply  but  finally  came  up  again.  Land  was 
steadily  getting  plainer.  The  lighthouse,  radio 
station,  sugar  factory,  houses,  and  trees  became 
visible.  Farms,  vineyards,  roads,  and  buildings  took 
on  form  and  colour.  It  was  manifest  that  we  should 
soon  be  sighted.  We  were  first  sighted  about  seven 
miles  from  Ponta  Delgada  at  about  16:12  G.M.T. 

We  had  to  keep  well  off  shore  as  it  was  very  prob- 
able that  a  sea  breeze  would  be  encountered  close  to 
the  island  which  might  drive  us  ashore  on  the  rugged 
coast  to  the  west  of  Ponta  Delgada.  On  the  other 
hand,  we  did  not  want  to  get  too  far  off  shore  when 
it  came  time  to  taxi  into  the  harbour. 

As  we  got  nearer  we  could  make  out  the  break- 
water and  shipping  and  a  vessel  at  anchor  in  the 
entrance  to  the  harbour.  These  were  the  first 
vessels  we  had  sighted  from  the  time  we  landed. 
A  few  minutes  after  we  were  observed  we  sighted 
the  Harding  coming  out  at  high  speed,  shooting 
spray  clean  over  her  bridge  as  she  raced  to  us. 
We  at  once  signalled  by  Aldis  lamp  (electric  flash) 
for  her  to  stand  by  as  we  ran  in  under  power. 

The  seas  were  too  rough  to  attempt  towing  and 
we  could  manage  more  certainly  under  our  own 
power  when  the  time  came.  In  the  meantime,  about 
the  time  we  expected  to  be  sighted,  we  had  hauled 
down  our  distress  signal  and  hoisted  our  colours  right 
side  up. 

As  we  arrived  about  four  miles  west  of  the  harbour, 
we  found  it  increasingly  difficult  to  maintain  a 
course  clear  of  the  shore  and  had  to  work  more  and 


300        THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S 

more  across  wind.  This  could  be  done  only  at  con- 
siderable risk.  That  this  risk  was  real  was  proven 
shortly,  for  as  we  arrived  off  the  breakwater  our 
right  tip  float  let  go.  Dragging  by  two  wires  with 
its  deck  broken  it  nearly  made  us  capsize  by  dragging 
the  wing  down.  We  at  once  started  the  rear  engine. 
Moore  went  out  on  the  wing,  let  go  the  turnbuckles 
on  the  two  wires,  and  the  second  float  was  gone. 
Our  danger  was  now  so  great  that  we  asked  the  Hard- 
ing to  have  a  lifeboat  ready  at  a  moment's  notice 
and  to  stand  close  by.  We  also  asked  the  Melville 
to  have  two  boats  ready  to  place  under  the  wings 
as  we  came  up  to  our  mooring. 

Fortunately  the  wind  was  so  strong  that  the  aile- 
rons remained  effective,  particularly  with  the  help 
of  the  centre  engine.  Several  times  we  rolled  dan- 
gerously on  to  the  right  wing.  We  started  the  two 
wing  engines  next,  and  with  Moore  on  the  port  wing 
we  were  able  to  keep  balanced  fairly  well.  Once 
more  the  wing  went  down,  and  Lavender  started  to 
go  out  to  the  opposite  wing  from  aft,  passing  the  rear 
propeller.  Towers  let  out  an  unearthly  yell  which 
Lavender  "got"  just  in  time  to  save  himself  from 
the  propeller. 

McCulloch  and  I  both  had  to  work  fast  on  the 
ailerons.  We  found  it  was  most  difficult  to  keep  the 
right  wing  up  as  we  were  now  heading  into  the  har- 
bour, and  the  wind  was  on  our  port  side.  Moore 
was  out  on  the  left  wing.  As  soon  as  we  found  Mc- 
Culloch could  get  along  without  my  assistance  I  con- 
verted myself  into  portable  ballast  and  relieved  Moore 
on  the  left  wing  and  with  Lavender  on  the  right  wing, 


THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S        301 

by  running  in  and  out  on  the  rear  wing  spars  we  were 
able  to  keep  from  serious  rolling  until  we  got  into  the 
harbour  and  had  boats  under  the  wing  tips. 

As  we  entered  the  harbour  of  Ponta  Delgada  it  was 
a  perfect  bedlam  of  noise  and  motion.  Whistles 
shrieked  from  every  craft  in  the  harbour,  the  crews  of 
the  ships  were  cheering,  and  the  shores  were  lined 
with  cheering  crowds.  Ships,  boats,  and  shore-boats 
charged  about  the  harbour,  the  launches  from  the  war- 
ships vying  with  each  other  to  see  which  should  be 
the  first  to  take  our  lines.  Thus  two  launches  got  foul 
of  each  other  and  of  us  as  we  neared  the  mooring  buoy 
and  both  got  their  propellers  fouled  by  the  antenna 
wire  we  had  used  in  making  an  improvised  sea  anchor. 
Two  speedy  motor-sailing  launches  came  rushing 
along  with  punts  in  tow  to  go  under  our  wing.  The 
one  to  port  passed  by  in  seeming  doubt  as  to  what 
was  expected  of  him.  The  one  to  starboard  came 
up  nicely.  Then  the  man  in  the  punt  grabbed  the 
right  wing  tip.  He  hung  on  until  he  was  lifted  about 
five  feet  into  the  air,  when  he  decided  to  let  go,  and 
was  lucky  enough  to  drop  back  into  his  punt  with- 
out capsizing.  The  port  launch  had  swung  around 
for  another  try  and  this  time  came  charging  up  with 
its  punt  submerged. 

Mack  Sennett  could  not  have  staged  a  better 
roughhouse  than  was  afforded  by  the  efforts  of  these 
boats  to  be  of  assistance  to  us. 

The  sun  was  still  high  over  the  hills  at  the  head 
of  the  harbour.  All  craft  in  the  harbour  had 
"dressed  ship,"  and  the  colours  in  the  bunting  stood 
out  brilliantly  as  the  flags  whipped  in  the  stiff  breeze. 


302        THE  TRIUMPH  OP  THE  N.C'S 

The  harbour  is  naturally  beautiful  with  its'  tropical 
colouring.  Pink,  white,  blue,  yellow,  and  brown 
houses  with  red-tiled  roofs  in  the  foreground,  were 
set  against  a  background  of  variegated  fields  and 
tropical  foliage  under  a  brilliant  sky.  Add  to  this 
the  relief  from  tension  now  that  we  were  out  of  dan- 
ger and  our  feelings  may  be  easier  imagined  than 
described. 


CHAPTER  VII 

ARRIVAL  AND  RECEPTION  AT  PONTA  DELGADA 

WE  WERE  tired  and  dirty,  but  happy,  for 
all  hands  of  the  N.C.  Division  were  ac- 
counted for.  Though  we  had  met  with 
misfortune,  we  had  had  a  wonderful  adventure,  and 
were  not  unmindful  of  the  favouring  winds  which 
had  made  it  possible  for  us  to  sail  to  our  destination 
unassisted.  We  had  had  three  days  to  get  used  to 
the  idea  that  we  were  "out  of  it"  so  far  as  complet- 
ing the  flight  was  concerned.  We  had  worked  so 
hard,  some  of  us  for  more  than  a  year,  with  the  trip 
in  view;  we  had  dared  so  much  that  the  disappoint- 
ment was  a  bitter  one  that  we  could  not  go  on 
through  the  air. 

If  the  damage  had  been  confined  to  that  existing  at 
the  time  we  landed,  it  is  possible  that  we  should  have 
been  able  to  make  repairs  and  continue,  but  the  loss 
of  the  lower  wings,  tip  floats,  and  lower  elevator,  and 
the  damage  to  the  upper  elevator  put  this  out  of 
question. 

As  soon  as  the  N.C. 3  was  secured  at  her  moorings 
we  went  ashore  where  we  were  tendered  a  reception 
by  Admiral  Jackson  and  his  staff.  There  were 
present  the  U.  S.  Consul  and  his  wife,  the  Civil 
Governor  and  Military  Governor  of  the  islands  and 
their  staffs,  the  President  of  the  City,  and  others. 

303 


304        THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S 

On  landing  we  found  we  had  sea  legs  on,  and  reeled 
our  way  up  the  steps  to  the  Admiral's  quarters. 

After  being  officially  welcomed  and  very  much 
photographed  we  repaired  to  the  ballroom.  We 
then  were  called  to  the  balcony  facing  on  the  square, 
to  satisfy  a  local  demonstration  of  a  crowd  which 
had  formed  an  impromptu  parade,  following  a  native 
band  to  the  plaza  in  front  of  the  Admiral's  quarters. 
On  our  appearance  the  band  played  the  "Star  Spang- 
led Banner"  and  the  crowd  gave  a  round  of  cheers, 
with  a  "Heap,  Heap,  Whoo-rrrah." 

We  each  then  cabled  home. 

After  a  good  hot  bath  and  making  ourselves  as 
presentable  as  possible  with  our  limited  outfit,  we 
very  much  enjoyed  a  fine  dinner  which  was  awaiting 
us,  prefacing  the  dinner  with  a  trifle  of  six  scrambled 
eggs  apiece. 

As  soon  as  we  could  decently  do  so  we  then  found 
our  way  to  real  beds  and  thoroughly  enjoyed  a  good 
night's  rest,  knowing  that  those  at  home  would  also 
sleep  well  with  the  knowledge  that  we  were  safe  and 
sound. 

The  next  morning  we  got  word  that  the  N.C.4  was 
coming  from  Horta.  She  came  over  the  hills  to  the 
west  at  good  altitude,  making  a  long,  easy  spiral  and 
landing  in  the  harbour  entrance.  Coming  through 
the  air  she  made  a  great  impression  on  the  natives. 
Her  reception  was  a  repetition  of  that  accorded  us 
on  our  arrival.  Shortly  after,  a  destroyer  arrived 
with  the  N.C.I  crew.  It  was  a  happy  reunion  for 
us,  tempered  only  with  regret  that  we  could  not  all 
continue,  yet  proud  and  hopeful  that  the  N.C.4 


THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S        305 

was   still   fit  in  every  way  and  almost  certain  to 
succeed. 

We  now  learned  that  the  N.C.I  had  encountered 
fog  at  11:10  G.M.T.  at  Number  18,  and  like  us  after 
travelling  about  200  miles  without  sighting  any  pa- 
trols had  descended  at  13:10  G.M.T.,  also  for  the 
purpose  of  getting  a  radio  bearing.  She  had  landed 
without  injury  of  any  kind,  apparently  in  even 
heavier  seas  than  we  had  encountered,  but  found  these 
seas  too  heavy  to  attempt  a  "getaway."  Shortly 
after  landing,  a  heavy  sea  rolled  one  wing  down  so  deep 
that  the  upper  wing  entered  the  water,  and  the  over- 
hang of  the  aileron  carried  away,  also  the  wing  tip 
float  let  go.  They  tried  out  the  sea  anchor,  but  it 
carried  away  quickly.  They  then  used  a  galvanized 
bucket  as  a  sea  anchor  with  better  success,  but  the 
damaged  aileron  was  a  heavy  handicap  and  they 
finally  decided  to  taxi  and  use  one  engine.  Even 
so  they  found  it  almost  impossible  to  maintain  con- 
trol. After  about  three  hours  they  sighted  the 
smoke  of  a  steamer  and  started  to  taxi  toward  it, 
but  lost  it  in  a  short  while.  A  little  later  they  sighted 
another  steamer,  the  Ionia.  She  appeared  to  be 
heading  to  one  side  and  wireless  failed  to  connect, 
for  the  Ionia  had  no  wireless.  They  then  headed 
for  her  as  she  appeared  to  be  getting  nearer;  but 
they  lost  her  in  a  fog.  All  hands  were  seasick  and 
discouraged  by  this,  but  the  lookout  on  the  Ionia  had 
discovered  the  tattered  wing  flapping  in  the  wind  and 
took  it  for  a  signal  of  distress.  So  she  changed  her 
course  before  the  fog  set  in.  About  six  hours  after 
the  N.C.I  landed,  the  Ionia  came  out  of  the  fog  close 


306        THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S 

aboard.  With  a  fine  display  of  seamanship  < the  cap- 
tain placed  the  Ionia  across  the  sea  close  aboard  the 
N.C.I  and  lowered  a  lifeboat,  which  also  by  excellent 
seamanship  succeeded  in  getting  to  the  bow  of  the 
N.C.I.  By  this  time,  though  right  side  up,  she  was 
so  badly  damaged  that  Bellinger  decided  to  leave  her, 
but  carried  a  line  to  the  Ionia  in  an  effort  to  tow  her  to 
port.  The  rescue  of  the  crew  was  no  easy  matter, 
as  the  men  had  to  come  over  the  bow  and  the  bow 
rose  and  fell  with  each  sea  so  that  one  instant  the 
boat  was  level  with  the  bow  and  the  next  was  twelve 
to  fifteen  feet  below.  Only  expert  work  on  the  oars 
made  the  rescue  possible,  and  the  captain  and  crew 
of  the  Ionia  deserve  the  greatest  credit. 

Efforts  at  towing  were  unsuccessful  and  the  line 
soon  parted.  The  position  was  noted  and  the  N.C.I 
was  then  abandoned.  The  captain  of  the  Ionia  did 
everything  possible  to  make  the  crew  of  the  N.C.I 
comfortable  and  then  headed  for  Gibraltar. 

Bellinger  informed  him  of  the  search  that  was  "on" 
and  how  necessary  it  would  be  for  the  search  vessels 
to  know  that  the  crew  was  safe.  So,  as  the  Ionia 
had  no  wireless,  the  captain  changed  his  course  and 
headed  back  toward  Horta.  Contact  with  a  de- 
stroyer was  soon  made  and  the  crew  was  transferred 
to  the  destroyer  after  expressing  their  gratitude  to 
the  captain  of  the  Ionia  and  his  crew. 

To  the  crew  of  the  N.C.I,  elimination  from  the 
flight  was  just  as  bitter  a  disappointment  as  it  was 
to  the  crew  of  the  N.C.3.  This  disappointment  was 
also  shared  by  the  crew  of  the  N.C.4-  But  all  hands 
were  glad  indeed  to  be  saved,  and  pleased  that  one 


THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S        307 

of  our  planes,  which  had  been  the  lame  duck  at  the 
start,  was  still  ready  and  able  to  carry  on  the  work 
of  the  division  and  ultimately  win  the  honour  of 
being  the  first  aircraft  in  the  world  to  cross  the 
Atlantic. 

The  afternoon  the  N.C.4  arrived  at  Horta  the 
crews  of  the  three  boats  were  tendered  a  reception 
at  the  Governor's  palace.  It  was  a  most  impressive 
spectacle.  On  one  side  of  the  room  Admiral  Jack- 
son, his  staff,  and  Captain  Wortman  of  the  Melville 
were  lined  up  with  the  crews  of  the  planes,  and  were 
received  by  the  Governor  and  his  staff.  On  the 
other  side  were  all  the  military  and  naval  officials 
of  the  islands  together  with  prominent  civilians. 
Following  the  formal  reception,  the  Civil  and  Mili- 
tary Governors  gave  enthusiastic  and  laudatory 
addresses  of  welcome,  the  first  in  Portuguese  and  the 
second  in  French.  Admiral  Jackson  replied  in 
Portuguese  on  behalf  of  the  plane  crews.  After 
this  there  was  general  mingling  of  all  hands  and 
refreshments  were  served.  The  reception  room 
was  handsomely  decorated  and  furnished,  and  made 
a  wonderful  setting  for  the  occasion  of  the  first  of 
many  receptions  to  be  tendered  the  plane  crews,  in 
Ponta  D$giia,  Lisbon,  London,  and  Paris. 

It  is  interesting  to  note  that  the  N.C.3  sighted 
nothing  after  passing  Number  13,  encountering  fog, 
squalls,  and  rain  from  then  on,  and  she  landed  at 
13:30  G.M.T.  She  would  have  sighted  land  in  less 
than  an  hour  if  she  had  held  her  course. 

The  N.C.4  encountered  similar  conditions  after 
passing  Number  17,  but  had  the  good  fortune  to  sight 


308        THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  N.C'S 

land  at  Floras  at  11:27  G.M.T.,  making  her  way  to 
Horta  and  landing  at  13:23  G.M.T.  alongside  the 
Columbia. 

The  N.C.I  encountered  similar  conditions  at  Num- 
ber 18,  at  10:14  G.M.T.,  and  sighted  nothing  else 
from  then  on  and  landed  at  13 :10  G.M.T.  She  must 
have  passed  near  Corvo  just  before  landing.  Though 
abandoned  in  badly  damaged  condition  on  the  17th, 
she  remained  right  side  up  until  13:00  G.M.T.  on 
the  18th  when  she  capsized,  finally  breaking  up  and 
sinking  on  the  19th. 

The  power  plants  of  all  planes  were  in  excellent  con- 
dition after  fifteen  hours  of  flying.  There  was  fuel 
to  spare.  All  planes  had  encountered  bad  air  con- 
ditions which  proved  their  airworthiness. 

Except  for  the  unusual  combination  of  wind,  fog, 
and  heavy  seas,  all  occurring  in  spite  of  favourable 
forecasts,  all  these  planes  would  easily  have  accom- 
plished this  longest  leg  of  the  flight.  In  spite  of  these 
conditions  the  N.C.4  did  accomplish  it. 

Due  to  the  foresight  of  the  Navy  Department, 
however,  just  such  chances  were  discounted,  and  the 
flight  was  not  agreed  to  until  more  than  one  plane 
was  ready.  Thus  was  its  wisdom  vindicated. 


THE  END 


THE   COUNTRY   LIFE    PRESS 
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